English Epochs 101

How to Ruin a Friendship

2012-02-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

by Katherine Ashe

Simon de Montfort and King Henry III

All of God's Creation forms a line of power and greatness, from the hierarchies of heaven, through popes, kings, lords and common mankind, and so on down to the lowliest worm - so said Thomas Aquinas. It was a great relief to kings and the Pope who were seeing the Hand of God favoring the common people and their leader Simon de Montfort. It was indeed a happy thought Aquinas offered, and it prompted the Pope to make heretics of the followers of Montfort and his armies fighting for the common people's right to govern themselves.

That was in 1262. A lot has happened since then. But Aquinas succeeded in halting the rise of democracy for five hundred years, bolstering the power of kings to do as they pleased under a proclaimed Divine Right.

Who was Simon de Montfort, and how did he come to be fighting for democracy so very long before it freely blossomed?

Carcassone, where Simon was born.
Simon was the son of Simon de Montfort the Crusader, then much lauded, now much hated for his campaign against the Albigensian heretics of southern France. Orphaned and bankrupted by his father's wars, young Simon apparently grew up at the Court of Paris, close to the Regent Queen Blanche and her son King Louis IX, who was to be Saint Louis. But Simon's future was not to be in France.

While probably still in his teens, young Montfort went to England to try to gain his family's lapsed English titles, Earl of Leicester and Steward of England. King Henry III befriended him, but for years was coy about granting the titles. While waiting, Simon gained fame as a knight in warfare against the Welsh - and fell in love with the king's sister, who was a nun. Their secret marriage most likely was necessary.

Apparently Henry thought he only need ask the Archbishop of Canterbury to lift Sister Eleanor's vows and all would be well. Not so. The Archbishop flatly refused, and only the Pope could overrule him. Simon went to Rome - and came back with Eleanor's vows lifted, but in debt for the rest of his life. If this sounds like a romance, it is nonetheless actual history.

Debt can be a great dampener to even the most yearned-for honeymoon, and apparently the princess, relieved of her vows of poverty and chastity, had been spending like a tycoon, despite the new debt from Rome. (Romance fades for a moment, and chilling economics peep into the story. Letters from both Eleanor's and Simon's spiritual advisers warn then against shouting at each other - especially in front of the servants.)

Whatever the reason, research and rationality strongly indicated that, when the King and Queen visited Simon's home at Kenilworth on September 9 through 15th, 1238, the Queen, who had been thought barren, conceived a child. A few weeks later, to account for this pregnancy to her husband and the world, the Queen paid a physician who prescribed a herbal tea and prayers at the tomb of Saint Edward - with pregnancy to be the guaranteed result. And indeed, seven months later, a hearty full-term boy-child was born, to be Edward I, so named for he obviously was the result of Saint Edward's miracle - at least so King Henry and all England believed at the time.

Simon was King Henry's closest friend at this time -- until Henry seems to have been disabused of his faith in the saint's responsibility for the birth. The occasion was the Churching of the Queen, an event held to welcome the Queen back into the Church after the lying-in and birth. The ceremony was preceded by the Queen's first confession since her pregnancy was known, and she made that confession to the Archbishop of Canterbury - Simon's enemy who had even traveled to Rome to block his marriage to the nun.

The 13th century Chronicler Matthew Paris reports on the Churching with the precision of an eyewitness. Henry nervously paced back and forth across the dais as the Queen trembled at the altar. Simon arrived late with his wife. Seeing him, the King halted the proceedings, shouting, “So, you do dare show your face here, among decent Christians!” Simon fled, but was evicted by the King's bailiffs from the grand mansion Henry had lent him for the summer.

Returning to the church with his wife, infant son and baby nurse, Simon went forward through the parting crowd and knelt, weeping at Henry's feet, begging forgiveness. “Forgive you!” Henry shrieked. “My friend! Always so ready to serve! It seems your serving knows no end! You seduce…”

But Henry desperately needed this heir to curb the maneuverings of those who would overthrow him to put his far more capable brother Richard on the throne. He curbed himself, and accused Simon of seducing his sister the nun and bribing Rome to relieve her of her vows. Old news resolved more than a year past. He added a few more complaints about debts, also already settled, before he collapsed in tears into the waiting arms of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Simon fled for his life. So began a career that was eventually to make him the people's champion, founder of Parliament and creator of modern democracy. He was hailed as the Angel of the Apocalypse, bringing in the New Millennium that would see the Church, kingship and nations dissolve and a single World Order take form, guided by the common man through the power of the vote.

From his beginnings, no one could have seemed less likely than Simon de Montfort to come to such an end.

Katherine Ashe is the author of :

Montfort The Early Years 12229 to 1243

Montfort the Viceroy 1243 to 1253

Montfort The Revolutionary 1253 to 1260

Montfort The Angel with the Sword 1260 to 1265

Simon de Montfort: The Early Years is FREE on Amazon Kindle from February 11th through 15th, 2012.

Note by Katherine Ashe: Standard histories credit Henry III as the father of Edward I, ignoring the bill for the physician with the magic tea, recorded in the Great Roll of the Pipe for November 1238; the seven month pregnancy, which Henry himself believed was such a miracle that he renovated Saint Edward's tomb in gratitude; and the murderous attitude Henry had thereafter toward Montfort and, periodically, toward Edward. As for Henry's well-recorded accusations at the Churching, they're lightly dismissed by historians as mere madness. No one but myself, it seems, has taken the trouble to investigate the ancient Churching ritual, to find that it was preceded by a long delayed confession, and would, in the case of the Queen, be made to the officiating Archbishop.

Some historians, sensing doubt, claim Edward was clearly a Plantagenet because he had inherited deformities that ran in the Plantagenet line. They are confusing him with his hunch-backed brother Edmund Crouchback, who probably was Henry's son, for Henry went so far as to hock the Crown of England to gain the Crown of Sicily for him. Edward, called Longshanks, was extraordinarily long of limb, like the Montforts.

It was believed by many, in the 13th century, that Edward was Montfort's natural son. If so, then the royal line returned from the Montforts to the Plantagenets with Henry Bolingbroke, who was descended of Edmund Crouchback on his mother's side. The Tudors, however, proudly claimed direct descent from Simon de Montfort through his daughter Eleanor, who was wed to Llewellyn the Last, and whose daughter Katherine, in her marriage to the prince of southern Wales, united north and south under a single Welsh ruling house. Modern scholars don't think Owen Tudor had quite so fine a pedigree, but Henry VIII, on his family tree in Winchester Hall, blazed large the name of Simon de Montfort.

Award: Most Adorable Historical Trivia Posts Ever

2012-01-18T09:34:00.000-08:00

I am endlessly amused at the fun posts put up by Grace Elliot on her blog-with-no-apparent-title. Therefore, I am creating the award Most Adorable Historical Trivia Posts Ever. It is awarded to Grace and had no other contenders.

Grace is the author of A Dead Man's Debt, Eulogy's Secret and Cat Pies: Feline Historical Trivia.

Purchase Cat Pies

Grace's Nameless Blog

Going Macaroni

2012-01-11T23:26:00.000-08:00

by Tim Queeney

“Yankee Doodle went to town,
Riding on a pony;
He stuck a feather in his hat,
And called it macaroni”

This bouncy song from colonial America is now more apt to be sung by children in elementary school. At the time the song was written in the 1760s, however, it was used by British army officers to mock the crudely-dressed American men of the colonial militia. British officers, in America to fight in the French and Indian War, saw Americans as unsophisticated rubes who thought the addition of a feather to their ragged tricorner hat was sufficient to transform them into fashionable fellows.

But what does Italian pasta have to do with sophistication? The macaroni reference comes from the informal group of young men in London who had been on the grand tour of Europe and were said to indulge in their love of Italian pasta, a food largely unknown in England. These fashionable fellows were said to belong to an informal “macaroni club” as they would dub items of high fashion as “very Macaroni.” The term was the eighteenth century version of “cool.” Thus, the song laughs at the rude American attempting to become fashionable with a feather.

Clothes are said to make the man and in my novel George in London my characters George and Darius find themselves in cosmopolitan London, accompanying their very “macaroni” aristocratic German business partner, the Baron Mowenholtz. Naturally, the simple clothes the pair have on their backs when they arrive in the capital simply won’t do. George wears a very plain suit of brown homespun and worn boots, while Darius, a mariner, wears mariner’s work clothes called “slops”-- short, wide linen pants to mid-calf, a striped linen or cotton shirt and perhaps a round, low-crowned hat or wool cap. The Baron wants them to present a prosperous image, so he brings the pair to his fancy tailor. With their new-found monies, George and Darius buy themselves somewhat more “macaroni” outfits:

“My new suit of clothes was composed of a dark green wool coat with buff waistcoat and sedge green breeches, a white linen shirt, white wool hose and brown cowhide shoes with brass buckles. My cheap, bob wig was replaced with a proper rig with a cue and ribbon. A buff tricorn hat and canary neck cloth finished me most pleasingly. As my brothers in New York would say, 'I be smokin’ sharp.'

"The baron also chose well for Geo: a dark blue bombazine silk coat with crimson facing, basket buttons and crimson-piped mariner’s cuffs, a crimson waistcoat with silver filigree embroidery and silver buttons, a crimson cravat, dark blue velvet breeches with white linen hose and silver-buckled black dogskin shoes. On his head Geo now flew a well-made horsehair buckle wig and atop it rode a dark blue Kevenhuller hat with a spray of eagle feathers.”

George digs more deeply into his pocket for his new clothes, choosing silk, silver and velvet. In a day when most men wore wigs, George purchases a fancy “buckle wig” and tops it with a fashionable, broad-brimmed style of chapeau a tricorne called a Kevenhuller. Naturally, an American to the core, he finishes his ensemble off with some feathers stuck in his hat -- very “macaroni!”

Tim Queeney’s book George in London the newly discovered tale of 19-year-old George Washington’s adventure in London seeking his fortune is available at Amazon for Kindle http://amzn.to/q3OoRD and at Barnes&Noble for Nook http://bit.ly/uCIaAt

Giveaway! Colonel Fitzwilliams Correspondence

2011-12-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

David W Wilkin is offering a set of three ebooks or a signed copy of Colonel Fitzwilliams Correspondence. The book, a Jane Austen sequel, is discussed in the following interview. If you would like to enter the drawing, please comment below and be sure to leave contact information.

This giveaway has ended. The winner is Kitchen Witch!

An Interview with Author David W Wilkin

2011-12-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

David Wilkin has been a historical re-enactor for twenty-five years. Most of that he has taught the dances of those past times to other re-enactors. With a degree in history and a passion for writing he has turned his hand to penning several novels about the past. A member of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, today I interview him to tell us a little bit more about his work and the time periods he specializes in.

Interview Questions

Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

I am a Los Angeleno. Born in Los Angeles California. Went for two years of college at UC Santa Cruz before coming back to town and finishing at UCLA. I have spent the rest of my life here in Southern California.

You majored in History. How do you use that in your daily life?

In my daily life I have been a manufacturing executive for 20 years. History comes into play only when I relate stories to the workers about how we did it in the old day. Or an idea on how to counsel the employees. Citing how other companies in the world (I am an avid reader of business history) have overcome an obstacle and gone on to success. Talking about a Regency Dandy like Beau Brummels, or about Prinny, does me little good on the shop floor.

How did your interest in writing begin?

I liked creating stories when I was a child. Then in college I actually submitted an article and it was published. When I graduated, after my first out of college job ended, I tried my hand at writing stories. I find in comparison to what I create now, there was a lot more editing at the end of my drafts when I started then now.

How long have you been writing now?

Over thirty years. But the last ten have been the most fruitful period. And of that, two and half years ago we had to close my own company, Aspen Interiors. We made the woodwork found in the Cheesecake Factory restaurants. That was a blow, and so I turned to writing every day after sending out the resumes. I have written 9915 pages in the time between closing Aspen and reentering the work force. Lots of first draft material, some second draft, and some items actually now in print.

Where did your interest in the Regency Era come from?

That is a tale, and bear with me, I shall lead you to the end of the trail. I liked history enough from High School to make it my major in college. I specialized in Pre-Modern Asian history while getting my degree which is pretty far from the study of Regency England. But History, I have always found, is stories. I like stories and even before college I wrote some, but after, I started my quest to be a novelist. I also became an Historical Re-enactor.
I joined groups where we made the costumes of the era we were Re-enacting. I learned the dances from those times, and then actually taught well over 1000 people how to do them. Running regular dance practices. My early main focus was Medieval and Renaissance, but one day a friend said, 'Have I got a girl for you to meet,' and dragged me to a Regency Dance. Well, not that girl, but several years later, I met my wife, Cheryl at a Regency Ball.
To woo her (she was very far away), I wrote her a regency romance, a few pages a day, that turned into a novel. When taking a class to further enhance my writing, I resurrected the story and worked on it more. Then over the last ten years, found that a good third of my output was Regency Romances.

When did you first begin to think about writing a novel, and what motivated your
decision?

As I mentioned, when I left college I got a job right away. But six months later, nepotism and diminishing revenue meant cuts. I was out. So then I turned my hand to a science fiction, a tongue in cheek western, a fantasy. All have potential, but they need another edit based on all that I have learned about the craft. When unemployment ran out, and I only had rejection slips to show for it, I went back into the workforce.

Did you study the Regency when you were at University?

Not at all. I studied a little on the English Victorian era. I had a class on the American Revolutionary era, but otherwise I focused on premodern asian history, and then european, before Napoleon. The Regency era did not hold any interest then. I was college age and a guy. The medieval and renaissance had a lot of battles that appealed to me and the many stories such as King Arthur (whose time period is before the medieval era of course, but all the movies come out with medieval armor and fighting) or Richard Coeur de Lion.

What do you think is the hardest part of writing?

The middle is often hard. To keep everything energized when the Boy is struggling to redeem himself for the Girl, or to capture her interest. I have it plotted but often by the time I get there, secondary plot lines are coming into play and what I had originally glimpsed as interesting when I first thought to write, is now eclipsed by other better ideas. Then the true hard part is editing. Somedays I would rather take a catnap while reading my own words. I of course pretty much remember what they say and where it is going. (Not that I think so highly of my work knowing that it does need editing. But somedays a nap seems very appealing.)

Do you find it easy to choose character and place names

I cheat. I look up in the long list of peerages names and change a thing or two to get them right. Then for place names, I look for an area I want to put the action at, and if it needs to be fictitious I think up something. Using @@@@ford, or @@@@ ton often works. There are a lot of fords and tons in England.

Please tell us about your books.

I’ll just talk about the Regencies if that is alright. By far the most popular is Colonel Fitzwilliams Correspondence. It is a sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Originally I envisioned that the Colonel would emerge and have a romance, but I quickly put Kitty into the scene. With Lydia gone, I found Kitty torn between wanting to be a better young lady, than she had been while her more boisterous sister led her about, but also still a person of fun. I knew that the growth that occurs in all of us over time could be telling for one such as Kitty moving from being a girl to a woman.

I also knew that the war lasts for years, and a woman, if not married before her lover goes to war, most likely would not wait and appear to be on the shelf. When I placed the first letter in the story as a device to appease and contain the ever flighty Mrs. Bennet, I had no realization that would become the device I could employ for the entire story, but the truth is that England was growing closer by virtue of the post. Look to the original and the post between Jane and Lizzy telling of Lydia's flight. Look at the missive Darcy places in the hands of Lizzy to explain himself. There is a great deal of letter writing occurring.
I believe that carries my book. That it is also the change in our hero, who becomes a great correspondent and uses his connections back in England to keep him sane amidst the battlefields of Portugal and Spain. The crux of both his growth, and that of his love interest occurs when he returns from the war. I attempt to place my own use of language, as did Heyer, into the story. I think this is a dividing point for my readers. Some have related that they find this works for them, while others expecting this book to be our current use of language can't get past that.

The last caveat of a work based upon another's writing is that many have their own ideas of what should be happening to the characters the original author created after writing The End. I of course take all those characters in the direction I chose. I used the last few paragraphs as a guideline, and I used Aldous Huxley's view of Pride and Prejudice's Catherine de Bourgh portrayed by Edna May Oliver for mine more than some of the others. Austen says that Lady Catherine and Elizabeth will make amends in the final paragraphs of the novel. The Olivier movie (1940) I think shows that clearly. (Edna May beats Judi Dench in this portrayal, hands down-IMO)

My other two Regencies are a little more of the typical pieces one finds with my twist. I try to emulate as best I can Georgette Heyer. So I don’t write to a Harlequin formula but my own. In each I tried to evoke certain parts of the history that is occurring. In The End of the World the location is Cornwall. At this time the first railroad track was laid, without a train, to transport the copper from the mines to the ships that carted it to wales. My fictitious mine is the site where this is first adopted. Not that it plays a central point to the entire tale, but it is there as background. Something our hero brings to the story.

In The Shattered Mirror we have a story that evolves around the true end of the war. It ended twice of course, since Napoleon came back. And when it ends a second time, our heroine, who wants a hero, is going up to Town (London) for her first season. When in Town, she meets, runs into, a man she played with as a child. He, however, is now crippled from an injury sustained in the war. I think that is a side we forget about and I find that most of my heroes have some sort of PTSD. They have seen demons and have to confront them and come to terms with them. I think a great many other heroes in the genre are not beset by such problems. None I have read at least.

Mr. Wilkin writes Regency Historicals and Romances, Ruritanian and Edwardian Romances, Science Fiction and Fantasy. He is the author of the very successful Pride & Prejudice continuation; Colonel Fitzwilliam’s Correspondence.

His work can be found for sale at: David’s Books, and at various Internet and realworld bookstores including the iBookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords.

He is published by Regency Assembly Press.

And he maintains his own blog called The Things That Catch My Eye.

Eleanor of Aquitane, Queen of the English

2011-12-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

by Christy English

In my historical novel, To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, I explore the marriage of Eleanor to the French King, Louis VII. As my novel draws to a close in March of 1152, Eleanor of Aquitaine obtains an annulment and returns to her ancestral lands in Poitou. In history, the story does not end there.

Though cast aside by her first husband, Eleanor had no intention of retiring from the political stage. In May 1152, Henry, Duke of Normandy joined her in her capital of Poitiers and they married in secret.

Henry II, King of England

Henry and Eleanor ruled the combined lands of Normandy, Anjou, Brittany, Aquitaine and Poitou, and once they secured their lands from invasion by her ex-husband, Louis,they turned their eye on to Henry’s ancestral throne of England. Henry’s mother, the Empress Maude, had been denied her right to rule because as a woman she could not rally all the barons of England to her standard. Her young son, Henry, made it his life’s work to re-conquer the lands that his great-grandfather, William the Bastard had taken from the Saxons less than a century before.

Through diplomacy and military strength, Henry forced King Stephen to acknowledge him as his heir. When Stephen died in 1154, Eleanor and Henry set sail from Barfleur in Normandy to reclaim Henry’s throne.

Westminster Abbey in the Modern Day

I can only imagine Henry of Normandy’s sense of triumph as he was crowned King of the English in Westminster Abbey on December 19, 1154. Eleanor of Aquitaine, pregnant with her second son, was crowned at his side, and became a reigning queen for the second time in her life. After years of long planning and hardship, Henry and Eleanor reached their goal. Though the Empress Maude never was crowned Queen in England, her son ruled until his death in 1189, and two of his sons, Richard and John, ruled after him.

Eleanor was vindicated by her marriage to Henry II. Cast aside by Louis VII for never bearing him a son, she went on to give birth to five sons and three daughters for Henry
and for England. She ruled for many years as a partner at her husband’s side. Though their alliance later fell apart, the day they were crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1154 was a triumph for both of them.

Debra, thank you so much for hosting me on your blog.

I would like to offer a signed copy of To Be Queen: A Novel of the Early Life of Eleanor of Aquitaine as a give away, open to the US, Canada, and the UK. Please feel free to visit me and hear more about my obsession with Eleanor of Aquitaine and all things literary on my blog.

Description of To Be Queen

Duchess at fifteen, Eleanor of Aquitaine marries the King of France. But will she find that she must pay too high a price to be queen?

Although Louis VII is enamored of his bride, the newly crowned king is easily manipulated by forces in the Church. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Eleanor fights for her freedom and for the love of her life. In the arms of Henry of Normandy, Eleanor may finally find the passion she longs for, and the means to fulfill her legacy as Queen.

This giveaway has ended, and the winner is Pricilla! Thank you so much for your visit to English Epochs 101!

Why I Love Jane Austen

2011-11-29T21:40:00.001-08:00

This lovely watercolor is reported to be a painting of Jane Austen by her sister Cassandra. Jane was born Dec. 16th of 1775 and died on the 18th of July 1817, aged only 41. Born into a close family of lower-level landed gentry and never marrying, Jane had the leisure to develop as a writer. Having left home for their education while young, the two girls, Jane and Cassandra, returned in 1786, Jane remaining with their family thereafter until her death. Much of her education in dance, music and theater was to show up in her novels in time. Her enjoyment of life was reflected in the parody and comedy of her writings. Many of us love the story lines, often revolving around the need for a woman of the time to catch a moneyed man, but so much more has been taught to us through her books, and all the more so to readers now than in her time. The common things of life show up interestingly in a novel as compared to a history book. We see firsthand how a man was introduced to a woman, how those with money visited and helped the poor and how very strict the class divisions were. Snobbery of the upper classes was not only displayed, but in quite an entertaining manner and with the creation of unforgettable characters. With her fabulous stories now playing on screen, made over and over with everything Regency having been expertly researched, we see in vivid color what the era dress and decor was like. Gentlemanly manners appeal to many women of today, and we cannot get enough of the novels and movies. Having saturated myself with Knightley, Darcy and ulp, even Mr. Collins, I wanted the same, but new and more. Jane Austen's dying young and leaving many stories unwritten is what led me to become an "Authoress". My first novel, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire, is like what I suspect Jane might have written had she lived into the 1840s like her sister.

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Regency Dress I Regency Dress II Regency Dress III

Giveaway~ The Huguenot Sword

2011-11-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

Shawn Lamb is giving away a copy of her newly released novel, The Huguenot Sword. The following post gives some information on the times in which it is set.

One winner will receive their choice of a print copy (if within the US) or an ecopy.

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. The winner is Sophia Rose.

GIVEAWAY RULES
1. No purchase is necessary.
2. Your email address will not be given out or used for any other purpose than contacting you if you are a winner.
3. The prize is available to one winner. Should a prize not arrive, proof of shipping is all that may be required of the provider.
4. The contest begins on November 1st, 2011, and ends at 11:59 PM PST Sunday, November 6th, 2011.
5. The contest is being offered by author Debra Brown, 604 NW Linden Avenue, Corvallis, OR 97330 USA.
6. Each prize will be valued at the price of the offered paperback or ebook.
7. The winner will be chosen by third party random drawing.

One of the Most Powerful Huguenots in History: Henri de Rohan

2011-10-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

by Shawn Lamb

Like many who are historical fiction fans, there is one period in history that captures attention over others. For me, it is the 17th century and catapulted by the classic The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. While other teenage girls swooned over Mr. Darcy, I wanted to fight beside D’Artangan. Eventually, I did take up fencing and competed with an eye toward the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

But when I began writing my own musketeer story at age 16, my research took me down a different path. In Dumas’ classic, Richelieu is the main antagonist to the musketeers, yet the entire story came from a Catholic slant. So who where these Huguenots at La Rochelle? And why did Richelieu want to destroy them?

Absent from Dumas’ story and little mentioned in history, I stumbled upon a most
fascinating and key figure to the Huguenots – in fact to all of Protestantism during this time– Henri de Rohan.

Henri was the second son of the Viscomte de Rohan and born August 21, 1579. The family was considered a dynasty in France and he was cousin to Henry of Narrave, later King Henry VI of France. The Rohan family was well connected throughout Europe.

He began his military career at the age of sixteen and quickly distinguished himself in battle and strategy. Queen Elizabeth I called him her personal knight and he was named Godfather to Charles I. In 1603, Rohan was made a peer and given the title duke by Henry VI. Two years later he married Duc de Sully’s daughter and solidified his prominence among the French nobility.

Yet unlike many noblemen of his day, Rohan remained stubbornly loyal to his faith,
friends and family. Even when Henry VI renounced the Protestant faith and embraced
Catholicism, Rohan didn’t turn on him like others, who eventually assassinated the king for his betrayal. Instead, Rohan supported Henry’s young son, Louis XIII, with his military prowess and counsel. In turn, Louis respected and even held affection for his father’s friend and cousin. It wasn’t until persecution of the Huguenots grew dangerous that Rohan turned his industry to defending his faith and raise armed rebellion. But he directed his attacks toward the Catholic Church and Richelieu, not Louis.

Conflict between the French Catholics and Protestants was a war, within a war. All of Europe was in upheaval whether vying for power, expanding their holdings or attempting to put down the rising Protestant religion. Rohan’s influence spread far and wide due to his personal intrigue more than his family’s reputation. He was among the few who couldn’t be bought, cajoled, threatened or coerced. In this attribute lay his greatest asset and the one factor that made kings recoil and Cardinals to tread lightly.

Joined with his younger brother, Benjamin, Rohan led the fight of the Huguenots against total annihilation. His strength and fortitude kept the struggle alive even after humiliating defeats and terrible loses gained under Henry VI and the Edict of Nantes. Rohan held so much sway that a single act changed the course of the entire Huguenot population in France.

So my musketeer turned from of imitating Dumas to The Huguenot Sword, a novel highlighting the desperate struggle of one faith to survive. The dangers they faced in public for being different, the personal sacrifices of dividing families and eventually, the harrowing siege of La Rochelle, where the fate of all hung in the balance.

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Beginning her writing career in television, Shawn wrote for Filmation Studio’s series BraveStarr. She won several screenwriting awards including a Certificate of Merit from the American Association of Screenwriters. Recently she became a winner in The Authors Show contest 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading for 2011. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband Rob and their daughter, Briana.

The Tower of London~ Part One

2011-10-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

Below is a link to my post, The Tower of London, on English Historical Fiction Author's Blog. Someday I will actually get back to writing posts for THIS blog! I've been terribly distracted.

~~~Tower of London~ Part One~~~

English Historical Fiction Authors Blog~ Please Visit Us!

2011-09-23T00:26:00.000-07:00

Join us at a new, multi-author blog, the English Historical Fiction Authors.

The blog will have a daily post on a topic sure to please those who love England and English history. We will also have a weekly book giveaway. I will let you check it out without further ado: Beam Me Up!

An Exciting New Event in the British Historical Fiction World

2011-09-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

What is the big event in historical fiction coming on Sept. 23rd? It will involve many wonderful people and there will be grand and fabulous prizes, including a hefty Amazon Gift Certificate and many books! Stay tuned and I will let you know more, or leave a comment if you want to be notified.

The Barsetshire Diaries~ Interview of Lord David Prosser

2011-09-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

1. I am very interested in your Barsetshire Diaries. What inspired you to begin writing? And why did you choose to write what you did?

Hi Debbie. Thanks very much for your interest. I have been ill for a some time and very often housebound (chronic antisocial some say). A friend messaged to ask how my day had been and instead of saying "Boring" I set my day out as an imaginary diary. She loved it and demanded more. As an author she said it was a fun read. I chose to write what I did because the subjects are all around me and people are fun when you see their little foibles as long as you're not cruel.

2. Tell us about Barsetshire.

Barsetshire is based on a small village and the characters that occupy it using my own experience as a village dweller. All the things that happen in villages and in real life happen here with a slant towards the ridiculous. I chose to set it in Barsetshire as I didn't want to name the place I live and because it's about 140 years since The Barsetshire novels were written. After 70 years Angela Thirkell brought them up to date with her times and now 70 years later I thought I'd do the same.

3. Do you write as a person from Barsetshire?

I write as Lord of the Village in which I'm living within Barsetshire.

4. Please tell us some of the story that is revealed by the diaries to whet our appetites.

There is an occasion in the first book where I have to attend a funeral as a coffin bearer. Of the four of us, two are tall and two short. The organiser arranges the two shorter of us at the front and the two taller at the back. As we follow the Vicar the path slopes sharply down, the two of us at the front find the coffin slipping forwards towards the neck of the vicar and we have to put on speed to keep up with it. On a slippery path only mayhem can ensue.

5. Could you provide some sample diary entries?

From Book 3. More Barsetshire Diary.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Oscar's Gift and the Baron's Lady

I woke at 6.00 am. There was no pressure on my chest, no damp nose on my eyelids, nothing attacking my feet and yet I had woken so early. It took me a few seconds to realise that I was actually awake because I was expecting the pressure, the damp or the attack etc. I thought I must be suffering from some form of Stockholm Syndrome where the captive becomes dependant upon and would do anything for the captor. Where was the little grey blighter?

I got up, expecting at any moment to hear the miaow telling me he was hungry, but I heard nothing. I cleaned and refilled his dishes anyway and then made myself a pot of tea for a change.

By 8.00 am I had been for a shower, got dressed and woken Lady J with her usual bucket of coffee, which in order not to spill it I'd rolled along on a hostess trolley. That's not really true but her cup is so large it should be true.
There was still no sign of Oscar.

It was 8.30 am when he finally showed up. We always left a window open to accommodate his comings and goings but he was usually as regular as clockwork.
Today as he returned we heard a series of very muffled mews as though he was wearing a gag, a sound we had heard before when he had managed to wrap one of Lady J's bras round his head after falling into the laundry basket.

Anyway, we heard the sounds of his approach and then my heart dropped to my stomach as he sauntered into view and before I could take action, dropped a dead mouse at my feet. Honoured as I was, it still bothered me when he caught mice or birds when I felt he was well enough fed. Ridiculous, but I couldn't help it.
Before I was able to draw another breath, the mouse moved.

From Book 2 The Queen's Envoy.

This was fun to write as it's a prequel and gave me chance to go on adventures like a spy as well as having fun interludes at home.

Thursday, November 28, 1991
Alvin and the Chipmunks

Got up early this morning. From my window I could see the square and all the guards. There was no one in the passage outside my room so I decided to explore a bit. I showered and dressed first and then stepped out and shut my door. As I did so I noticed a red light flickering opposite and realised that there was a camera trained on my room.

Pretending I hadn't seen it I walked along the passage way in the opposite direction to the way I'd approached it last night. I soon came to two sets of stairs. One led down, presumably to the rooms I'd been in yesterday, the study and dining rooms, or maybe the kitchen was there. The other stairs went up. Faintly from up there I could hear singing of a sort. I confess the voices I could hear were more reminiscent of Alvin and the Chipmunks played at 78rpm but they were still recognisable as those of women.

I was tempted to go up but as I heard movement from below I chose to go down instead. Mehmet must have been at the bottom, shouting at Abdullah. “Find him, you fool!” I heard. “Umh, umh,umh”, was the only reply. As I appeared Mehmet stopped short, which was I suppose appropriate for someone his size.

“Good morning, Lord David”, he said, “It appears Abdullah has lost my favourite dog”, he improvised, but I knew he'd been referring to me. Turning to Abdullah he just said “Go”.

“Would you like some help to look for the little fellow?” I ventured.

6. How many books in total have you written, and could you tell us the titles?

In total so far there have been just the three books. My Barsetshire Diary, The Queen's Envoy and More Barsetshire Diary. Thee is a fourth in the planning stage where I shall have a few more adventures following the Second book.

7. Has research for the books taught you things you did not know before?

Oh yes; in book two I had to create a country for one chapter but I decided to stick to existing places after that. When I came to look at Sanliurfa as a place to visit, I was amazed not to have heard of it considering it's historical interest. Some regard it as the birthplace of the Biblical Abraham.

8. Where can we obtain a copy of your books?

The first two books are on Amazon and on Kindle. Book 3 is currently only available from Lulu.com because of a backlog on inputting books onto Amazon. Book four is only available after plying me with alcohol of a thumbscrew. I get the choice.

Lord David Prosser's Website

Historical Articles

2011-08-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

This post is here for entirely selfish purposes, but many of you will probably also enjoy it. I have come across wonderful historical blog posts, magazine articles, etc. over the ages (no comments, please) and I wished I had a place to save them. You can only bookmark so many sites before your bookmark list goes clear to the floor. Therefore, I am putting this post up as a place where I can put links over the ages. I invite you to bring your favorite links here, too. You can email them to me or put them in comments, and I will move them to this post. Eras will appear as links are found to match them. Thanks for your help!

Regency

George IV: The Rehabilitation of Old Naughty

A Decade a Week~ Starting in 1600 ~ by Richard Denning

Sophie Keates-Gazey on Northumberland's Castles

2011-08-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have selfishly requested my friend Sophie to write a post about the area in which she lives. She had told me that the northern English coast is littered with castles, and I thought it only fair that she share them! Besides Sophie's having delighted me with her writing (a favorite poem is on her blog), it turns out that she is married to an amazing photographer. He has been willing to share some of the incredible work he has done with us all. I know that you will want to visit his site to see more.

And now, Sophie's post:

I was delighted when Debbie invited me to write a guest post for her lovely blog. Apart from being a huge compliment, it also gave me an opportunity to reflect on my immediate environment, and to appreciate it anew.

Northumberland is the northernmost county in England, having a border with Scotland and a beautiful, spacious, sandy stretch of North Sea coastline. It is one of the largest counties in England, but one of the most sparsely populated, due mainly to much of its landscape being composed of rugged moorland, more suited to our hardy breeds of sheep than to human habitation!

This is a county rich in history, vulnerable over the centuries to attacks by Viking raiders from Scandinavia, and, closer to home, by clans of brutal livestock rustlers along the Scottish border, known as 'reivers'. One testament to this turbulent history is the concentration of castles on and near its coast. They are in varying states of repair, but each has a unique story to tell.

The craggy remains of Dunstanburgh Castle, on its cliff-top

Of all the castles in the area, Dunstanburgh Castle is the least well-preserved, and arguably the most atmospheric. See it on the horizon and you can understand why it is often described as looking like a mouthful of ravaged teeth.

Dunstanburgh Castle was built as a response to regular and punishing raids from the Scots in the 14th century. Its thick walls, and its position - much of the castle sits on top of cliffs with a sheer drop to the sea - provided excellent protection from attack.

The castle actually fell into ruin centuries ago. As early as 1538, it was described as being a 'very reuynus howsse and of smalle strength'. As its decline continued, its stones were plundered for new building projects.

Ruined it may be, but JMW Turner celebrated Dunstanburgh in watercolour, and today it stands noble and romantic on a beautiful coastal walk between Craster and Embleton Bay.

Another of Northumberland's castles which withstood raids by the Scots was Bamburgh, further up the coast from Dunstanburgh. The first fortress was actually built on this site in the 6th century, though nothing now remains of it, and the existing red sandstone structure, which sits on top of a volcanic outcrop, was begun in the 11th century.

Bamburgh Castle, basking in afternoon sunlight

Bamburgh holds the dubious honour of being the first castle in England to have been breached by gunfire (during the Wars of the Roses - 1455-85), and this was the beginning of its decline. However, thanks to a series of forward-thinking owners in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was restored. It was eventually purchased by the industrialist William (later Lord) Armstrong, who completed the restoration.

The castle still belongs to the Armstrong family, and makes for an interesting
visit. Unlike Dunstanburgh, this building is intact, and the visitor can explore
finely-decorated state rooms with their ornate furniture, tapestries and paintings, as well as humbler (and perhaps more interesting) domestic rooms such as the kitchen and laundry.

Further inland, the magnificent 11th century Alnwick Castle has been the principal seat of the Dukes of Northumberland since 1309. Familiar to many as Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter films, it is still very much a family home. Walk into the beautiful library, for instance, and there are family photographs on the occasional tables, along with much of the paraphernalia you would expect in a room which is regularly used and enjoyed.

The majestic Alnwick Castle, from across the River Aln

Alnwick Castle is warm and inviting, and it really is possible to imagine living here, in contrast with many other castles and stately homes, which can feel big, remote, intimidating and far from homely.

But for situation, romance and cosiness, the prize must surely go to Lindisfarne Castle, the most northerly of those featured here, and not far from the Scottish border at Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Lindisfarne Castle, perched on its rocky outcrop

Lindisfarne (also known as Holy Island) is connected to the mainland by a causeway which is only accessible twice a day, at low tide. And disaster awaits anyone silly enough to ignore the (large, graphic, unmissable...) warning signs at its entrance: every year lots of people do, and their cars are usually engulfed, and written off, when the North Sea suddenly sweeps in. (Drivers have become stranded 15 times so far in 2011, and a staggering 180 times since 2000, at massive expense to the rescue services.)

Lindisfarne Causeway, complete with rescue hut!

Anyway, to the Castle. It was built in 1542, on a massive rocky outcrop, giving it the perfect position for defending the surrounding harbour. In 1902, the Castle was acquired by Edward Hudson, a former editor of Country Life magazine, who employed Sir Edwin Lutyens to undertake a programme of restoration and improvement.

And what improvements! Hefty wooden roof-beams and solid stone archways support the ceilings of herring-bone patterned, brick-floored corridors; and the beautiful windows, many of them containing pieces of stained glass in their neo-gothic tracery, look out over the North Sea, or down over the charming walled garden, planned by legendary plantswoman Gertrude Jekyll.

This is a fairy tale castle if ever there was one, and it is even possible to get
married here. The small rooms, many of them with vaulted ceilings, are full of intimate decoration and design in the Arts and Crafts style, and seem to summon the ghosts of ancient knights on white chargers, and the damsels awaiting their arrival.

Here, as at all the castles along this coast, a sense of individuals' lives and changing fortunes is as tangible as the very fabric of the buildings themselves.

For the visitor, the castles along Northumberland's coast offer varied and atmospheric architecture, and stunning surroundings. And if you listen carefully, the very stones will whisper to you of centuries of history, violent destruction and beautiful, imaginative revival...

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Many thanks to both Sofie and her husband, the photographer, David Taylor.
Sophie Keates-Gazey's Blog
David Taylor's Website

See also the Country Life Magazine Website.
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Health and Medical Treatment in Victorian England

2011-08-19T00:19:00.000-07:00

Physicians had little knowledge, yet, of the cause of disease, so treatments were still backward and life expectancy was shorter than today. No real advances in the field were made during the Victorian century. Nutrition was poor, and epidemics swept through crowded cities. By the end of the century, bacteria were being identified, but cures were still forthcoming.

Prince Albert brought with him, into his marriage to the Queen, his native homeopathic remedies. They were used in the royal household, and are still being used by today's Queen. Most people depended on traditional remedies, herbal medicines and the sage advice of elderly women. Even in an aristocratic household, it was the knowledge of a laundress or kitchen maid that was often called upon to treat illness of the servants or even the noble family.

Women and older girls were expected to be delicate, and members of the upper class were thought to be unable to digest the coarse foods of the workers. They were also considered to be more endangered by cold, wet and exhaustion than their servants were. However, servants started working before their bodies had matured and often were unable to work beyond the age of forty. Once they were worn out, they often had no way to earn a living and ended up in the workhouses, where they struggled to survive.

Household manuals were the order of the day. One learned from such that most illnesses were caused by "bad air", which was true to the extent that the bad odors spoken of were caused by bacteria growing in garbage, sewage and the bodies of dead animals. There was the good advice to choose a home on high ground and keep drains clean to prevent "bad air", but windows were commonly sealed to keep night air out. Infant mortality was very high, and worse yet in poor areas.

Medical practitioners were becoming increasingly professionalized, but even at the end of the era, many practiced medicine with no formal qualifications. Medical students, learning to become apothecaries and surgeons, were often middle teenage boys with a reputation for rowdiness. Physicians were the only ones with university degrees. A medical degree from Oxford or Cambridge required students to learn plenty of Greek and Latin theory but did not include practical experience. Physicians were gentlemen; their wives could be presented at court. Surgeons and apothecaries wives could not, as they were considered to be laborers.
Since gentlemen did not work for money, a physician's fee was often wrapped in paper and laid near his hand. A physician could eat with an aristocratic family while a surgeon ate with the servants. Small numbers of women began to make their way, with difficulty, into the medical profession by 1878.

Most babies were delivered by traditional midwives who had been trained as apprentices. They worked for several years with an older midwife attending births, studying anatomy and herbal pharmacology. Local wisewomen probably knew more about women's and children's health than most physicians did.

A Victorian woman , whether attended by an obstetrician or midwife, was far safer having her baby at home than in a hospital. Puerperal fever was transmitted in hospitals and resulted in many deaths. Midwives, who stayed with one patient throughout the birth and for several days afterward, had a much better safety record than doctors. Doctors went from one patient to another and often carried infection along on their unwashed hands.
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If you love learning about different eras, please join the Goodreads Group "Historical Info for Historical Fiction Readers"
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Much of the information above came from the book Victorian England, edited by Clarice Swisher. The health and medical section was written by Sally Mitchell. The next article will be on the development of nursing care in Victorian England.
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Images thanks to Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Pandora Poikilos - Peace from Pieces: Blog-A-Licious Blog Tour 7

2011-08-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Fame or Fortune~ Which?

I would prefer fortune. There are ever so many ways in which to use money for the good. First, I would take everyone (that includes you) here:

Well, not really; there are hugely more important things to care for, but I thought I would put up a bevy of beautiful pictures to brighten our day.

You've heard of Puff the Magic Dragon in Hanalei? This (above) is the quaint little village of Hanalei. To the right is a hiking trail overlooking the Napali Coast. A chunk of Kauai disappeared into the sea in an earthquake five hundred years ago, leaving a cliff-only side of the island. There are also valleys there where ancient Hawaiians lived.

Thanks for the images to Creative Commons.

Previous blog: Janu
Next blog: Dora

Pandora Poikilos - Peace from Pieces: Blog-A-Licious Blog Tour 7

Victorian Hangman Game

2011-08-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

BE SURE TO TWEET YOUR SCORE! :D

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Oooh, this second game is hard!

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Can you speak Regencese?

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Enter to Win a Kindle!

2011-08-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

Indie Jane is giving away a Kindle! Head over HERE to enter. Mmmm, then you can have Pride and Prejudice for free.

Summer Giveaway Hop

2011-08-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

The Companion of Lady Holmeshire

The Companion of Lady Holmeshire is a Victorian novel with backstory into the Regency Era. It is the story of a servant girl who is chosen to become the companion to a widowed Countess and dragged along into snobbish aristocratic society. Mystery, polite romance and humor mix in a story that is sure to allow you to drift away from the cares of today's world into a time of castles, balls and banquets.

This giveaway is for two winners; PDF copies of the book for US and International winners. One of the two winners, if within the US, could choose an ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of the book- first come basis. Please understand that an ARC comes complete with a few errors. :) They are not a huge distraction from the story, however.
To enter the drawing, please scroll waaaaaaaay down and leave a comment and your email address or other means of reaching you.

Would you be so kind as to tweet this page? I love followers; I am @kescah. Many thanks!

This drawing is now closed.

‘When Fate Dictates’ – by Elizabeth Marshall

2011-07-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

An Excerpt of When Fate Dictates, a Scottish Historical Fiction and Fantasy Novel

Simon spooned a large mouthful of lamb stew hungrily into his mouth. Swallowing hard he rested his elbows on the table, his chin cupped in the palms of his hands, his eyes surveying me quizzically. I put the cloth I was folding down and looked back at him.
“Why do you stare at me so?” I asked.
“I was just thinking Corran that you don’t look yourself somehow. You look...very sad,” he said, a frown crossing his brow.
I forced a smile, knowing it would not reach my eyes. “No Simon, I am not sad, just thinking over our travel plans,” I lied, hoping he would accept my explanation.

The truth was that I felt overwhelmed by a paralyzing feeling of fear. My mouth was dry, my heart raced, the palms of my hands were damp and in the pit of my stomach I just knew that the road ahead was not the right one for us.

I looked around the front room of our house. It felt cold, I thought dimly, but
then I remembered that was because we had no fire burning. Why would we need a fire? We were leaving today. The bags and chests we had neatly packed lay against the wall, waiting to be piled onto the carriage. The rickety old stairs stood as though nothing had changed, but in my mind I could see the room above them. Cold as the day we arrived, bare and empty as the fireplaces. The treasures we had found in the chest returned to storage and the lid firmly closed on this chapter of our lives.
I watched as Duncan climbed awkwardly onto his Daddy’s lap and as Simon lovingly put his arm around his son to help him; how he scooped some meat onto a spoon and then fed it to the little boy. Their movements were slowed to my eyes. I felt as though I were in a dream, watching my life through a hazy fog of detachment. I could hear Simon and Duncan but their voices carried an echo of distance. The knot of fear in my stomach tightened, my fists clenched and I realized I was holding my breath. Something was very wrong! My eyes darted frantically around the room, searching for the source of my fear, but everything looked as it should.
Instinct took my eyes to the door, seconds before a loud thunderous bang came from behind it. There was a scraping and clanging of metal as I watched the door fall in before me. I stared in horror as the march of Red Coats trampled over the oak door and into our front room.

“Dear God!” I screamed, “Dear God No!”

Simon was on his feet, pistol in hand, Duncan beside him crying. He pushed the little boy away but Duncan clung to his father’s trousers. Simon was shouting, but I could not hear the words, he raised his pistol and held it steady at the mob. I ran to my little boy and grabbed him, pulling him away from his father. He fought wildly, kicking and screaming for his Daddy as I closed my arms around his little body, holding him tightly against me. I backed under the stairs and into the far
corner of the room as more Red Coats stormed the room. They had their pistols fixed
on Simon. They were shouting orders, he was shouting back and then I heard the shot, saw the smoke from the pistol and the room went quiet as Simon’s body hit the floor.

‘When Fate Dictates’ by Elizabeth Marshall
Elizabeth Marshall Writes

‘Dying‘, on a mountain, Corran is mysteriously saved from death by a Highland Stag. Confused, alone and frightened, she makes her way back to the village of Glencoe, and comes face to face with one of her enemies, Simon Campbell, a Red Coat, deserter and traitor. With her family massacred and her village destroyed, Corran trusts the fugitive when he offers to help her escape the village. Plans to flee the
country are brought to an abrupt end by Simon’s old enemy and fellow Red Coat, Angus. Pursued by Angus and seeking answers to the many questions in their life, Simon comes into the possession of a Campbell crystal which leads the couple through time and into modern day York where a final confrontation ends their conflict.

‘When Fate Dictates is now available for download on Kindle - Here

Book Giveaway! The Companion of Lady Holmeshire

2011-07-06T23:23:00.000-07:00

My sleepless nights and perfect-word searching days have, at last, produced a published book, making me an author! My Victorian Era mystery and sweet romance novel, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire, is now available in digital format on Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and Coffee Time, with Amazon being next. My launch date is July 15th. At that time, the book will become available in trade paperback.

How did this come to be? I ran out of movies. I have always enjoyed the pomp and circumstance, upstairs downstairs, castles, banquets and balls movies. Most of which came from Jane Austen, Dickens and Bronte books, along with others. As a jewelry maker and mother, I did not have much time for the reading that I loved so much as a child, but those movies could always play while I did my work. Eventually, this west-coast American learned how England worked in the times of strictly structured class differences. Although I am happy for everyone that those lines have broken down and there is more opportunity all around, those times made for amazing stories today. And more are desperately needed. Therefore....

Miss Emma Carrington, as a helpless infant, was deposited on the doorstep of the village of Holmeshire's local Squire Carrington. She was taken in and nurtured by Mrs. Carrington until the dear lady died. The teenage Emma was no longer wanted in the Squire's house, having taken up priceless hours of the Mrs.' life with her banter. Sent out, she took a position as a housemaid for the Countess of Holmeshire in the Northumberland castle up on the hill. The Countess took a liking to this maid and decided to have her as the companion who would make her lonely widowhood more pleasant. Emma was to be dragged along into snobbish, genteel society in London, like it or not. Strong feelings grew for the young Earl of Holmeshire, who was engaged by arrangement to a London lady. Mysteries unfold as romances grow, both in the aristocratic circle and among the servants downstairs. None of my readers, to this date, have guessed the surprises that are uncovered in the last two chapters, but you are invited to try in my Reader's Game!

I will give away a PDF copy of The Companion of Lady Holmeshire; please comment below to be entered into the drawing prior to the book's launch on July 15th. Be sure to leave contact information or check back for the winner's information on that date. Best wishes!

Lady Catherine de Bourgh Pays Tribute to Jane Austen (eventually)

2011-06-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

By Karen V. Wasylowski
Author of ‘Darcy and Fitzwilliam’ Please click on that title to see my April post about the book with Karen.

And now: Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

“Do I have everyone’s attention? I should very much appreciate all of you being seated straight away. Who is that vulgar, hairy, woman in the atrocious red cape…oh, it is you, bishop. La, I though you were Princess Esterhazy. Well my goodness, I was under the impression you were taller. I should have recognized you, of course, by that elegant beard, so unlikely an allurement to be possessed by a princess. Now, for a baroness if would have been, of course, excusable…yes,

thank you, please be seated your Eminence so that I may commence with my humble tribute.
It is wonderful to see so many old and dear friends here. Well, old at any rate (ahem). I should like to introduce my family to you, but, first I would thank our very thoughtful hostess, Miss (will someone hand me my spectacles – Darcy be a dear – thank you ) Ah, here it is…Miss Debra Brown – what a charming name. Would you please stand. Very nice. I am certain we need not worry overly. Miss Brown, I am sure, is certainly of the Devonshire Brown’s and not from those unpleasant American Brown’s. I should like to thank her, and her writing site, English Epochs, for giving us this opportunity. And she is an author as well, or so it says here. The title of her book is The Companion of Lady Holmeshire. I am certain that this novel shall be quite well received. Thank you, Miss Brown. Thank you. Miss Brown. That is quite enough bowing. Miss Brown. Oh do sit down, please!
Now a number of my relations are present and I should be very proud to introduce them to you all.
First, of course, is my handsome and very proficient daughter. Anne. Anne de Bourgh. Anne! Yes you, Anne, who else would it be, I’ve only one daughter. Stand up, gel! Oh bother. Someone find her vinaigrette please…there you are dear. Feeling better? Feeling quite the thing, are you? Excellent. Now stand up straight, Anne! Don’t slouch!
She’s lovely isn’t she? Ah, so very pale and wan. No hint of vibrancy. There is a reason for this, other than good breeding. It is not common knowledge, but I shall tell anyway. Anne has suffered her entire life from a series of peculiar and debilitating maladies - shortness of breath, palpitations, headaches, eye spasms, the occasional swoon. Uncontrollable crying. Yes. Oddly enough they usually crest whenever I walk into a room but then lessen when I leave. I know, how sad for her. And it apparently is common in other members of my family as well; I have found throughout the years that very many of my relations suffer from these anomalous symptoms. At least they do when I am in the vicinity. Oh well. ‘What wound did ever heal but by degrees.” That is Othello, you know. Of course if my willful, obdurate nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy, had married Anne when I suggested all those many years ago my daughter’s illnesses would have, I am certain, vanished. The young today, they are so very selfish, don’t you find?
Darcy why are you muttering and stomping your boots? He angers so easily these days; come over here and let me introduce you. My word, you look positively grim. Turn to the people. Isn’t he handsome? Stand up straight! Fitzwilliam Darcy is my sister Anne’s son, my late sister Anne, and the pride of Derbyshire. See how elegantly he dresses, how gracefully he comports himself. He is the perfect romantic gentleman. Dark, brooding fine-looking, arrogant, haughty…rich…some call him proud but I do not. I feel he merely has an accurate measure of himself that is all. He is a tall sort of man also, is he not? Extremely vertical for his weight.
Darcy and I had quite a splendid relationship for many years; he always would attend me during Easter, along with his reprobate of a cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Fitzwilliam is my brother’s son - a second son. A soldier.
Apparently the clergy would not have him.
Now Darcy, who, as I have already pointed out, is a very handsome gentleman of great intellect and superior lineage has made an incredibly ill-fated misalliance with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. No need to stand Elizabeth, nor speak if possible. What? What have I said? Why is he angry with me now? The young today are such a trial, they can be so argumentative. To continue, Elizabeth’s father is a gentleman of no consequence so the less said about her, him, or their embarrassing family, the better. Her mother is a absolute horror of a woman, completely lacking in accomplishments, her sisters are plain, awkward, hoyden or timid. Take your pick.
Next to Darcy is his lovely sister Georgiana Darcy. Georgiana plays the pianoforte extremely well due to her constant practicing. Stand please, Georgiana. Posture, Georgiana, do not droop so! As you can see she is a tad too tall, and rather too womanly, frankly speaking, for her young age. Truly refined young girls of the aristocracy are small boned and thin and never speak. Not until they agree to the marriage of their father’s choosing, that is and then they merely say ‘yes’. A truly elegant woman never speaks until she has children. And then she never stops. Oh, for heaven’s sake, don’t pout, Georgiana, you will develop puffy eyes, making you appear even more unappealing. Whyever is she crying?
Now, on to my tribute to Miss Jane Austen. She was…witty and quite opinionated. There, I’ve said it. She was intelligent. I do not mean to insult her but there it is. To use the vulgar colloquialism of the day, she was a blue stocking. We did not rub along well together. I first met Miss Austen in 1796 during her stay at Goodnestone Park in Kent. She was visiting there with her brother Edward, a most pleasing young man and his good wife, a delightfully silent young woman…unlike her sharp tongued and clever sister-in-law. Darcy! I do not appreciate nor condone that raised eyebrow! It is most threatening. Please lower it immediately.
Where was I? Oh, yes. I came to discover that Miss Austen was writing a novel at the time, quite a useless ambition for a young woman, but, the young never listen to sense, do they? It was entitled First Impressions. I cautioned her most wisely regarding the capriciousness of the publishing industry and, due solely to my counsel, she wisely sold the copyright to her manuscript for 110 pounds. Quite a coup I believed, for a girl. She had asked Mr. Edgerton for 150 pounds but I convinced her that she was fortunate to receive any amount for that silly story, let along 110 pounds! Poor dear. I am certain no one ever heard of the book after that, although I did hear mention that Edgarton changed the name of the book.
But whoever heard of Pride and Prejudice?
For some reason Jane refuses to speak with me, even unto this day.
La, children they are so unappreciative, are they not?

And now, back to Karen:
The short story I just publishd is on Kindle and Nook only, sells for $.99. It is Georgiana's Story.

Interview: Barbara KyleAuthor of the Thornleigh Series

2011-06-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

*Welcome Barbara!*

First, Debra, let me say it’s a pleasure do this interview for you. Your readers might be interested to know that we met via Twitter, where you very kindly gave me, a Twitter novice, some helpful advice when I needed to change my username. So thank you for that, and for inviting me to your blog.

*I'm glad to have you! I have read that you began your career by studying drama and going into acting. Could you tell us which productions you were involved in and whether you still take on acting work?*

I loved being an actor, a career I enjoyed for twenty years. I did everything from Shakespeare and Moliere on stage, to musicals, to starring in a TV soap opera called “High Hopes.” Several years ago I traded my acting career for one as a novelist, so it’s been a long time since I was in front of a camera or “on the boards” (the stage). I had a very pleasant “swan song,” though: the last role I played was in a made-for-TV film about the US hostage crisis in Iran when Jimmy Carter was president. George Grizzard played the president, and I played his wife, Rosalynn Carter. That was an honor, because she’s a person I admire. I must say that acting was a terrific background for writing fiction. All those years of reading scripts drilled a sense of dramatic structure right into my bones.

*Please tell us a little about the Thornleigh series and the Thornleigh family.*
My Thornleigh series follows a rising, middle-class family through the tumultuous reigns of three Tudor monarchs: Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. So far, there are four books in the series, and I’ve just signed a contract with my publisher, Kensington Books, for three more, so I’m now at work on the fifth. The Thornleigh family characters – Honor, Richard, Adam, and Isabel – are fictional, but each of them becomes dramatically enmeshed in the lives and loves, crises and adventures of real people of the day, such as the headstrong monarchs I mentioned above, and movers and shakers like Thomas Cromwell and Sir Thomas More, and revolutionaries like Thomas Wyatt and John Knox.

The Queen’s Lady begins the series. It’s Honor’s story as a young lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife, the wife he threw over for Anne Boleyn. My story features Honor’s conflicted relationship with her guardian, Sir Thomas More, who was Henry’s chancellor, and the missions she ran to rescue the men he persecuted. It also begins her exciting love affair with Richard Thornleigh, a seafaring wool merchant.

The King’s Daughter features their daughter Isabel’s adventures with mercenary soldier Carlos Valverde during the Wyatt Rebellion early in the reign of Queen Mary. Isabel is pledged to help Wyatt’s rebellion, but first she must rescue her father from prison, all while being hunted by her father’s old enemy.

The Queen’s Captive interweaves two stories. One is Honor’s mission to advise and protect the headstrong twenty-year-old Princess Elizabeth, who was in peril of being killed by her half-sister Queen Mary, and then turning her into a queen. The second is the story of Adam Thornleigh’s love affair with Elizabeth. Both stories culminate, the second one rather poignantly, in Elizabeth’s accession to the throne.

The Queen’s Gamble, which will be out in August, brings Isabel back from the New World to undertake a mission for Elizabeth, who, after less than a year on the throne, was facing the first international crisis of her reign: the threat of invasion by France via Scotland. Isabel smuggles money from Elizabeth to Scottish rebels, but Elizabeth keeps Isabel’s young son as a hostage to ensure her loyalty. Then, Isabel’s troubles worsen when Carlos, her Spanish husband, is engaged as a military advisor to the French, putting the couple on opposite sides in this deadly cold war.

*How do you feel when writing a book and nobody else knows these characters that you are so intimately connected with? Do you wish someone else was able to discuss them with you?*

Actually, I discuss the characters with my husband almost every day. He’s my totally reliable sounding board. He used to be a film editor, and has a marvelous editor’s eye. Also, he’s a great go-to guy for checking about how my male characters would really feel and act. That quest for authenticity has brought us a few smiles. In The Queen’s Lady I wrote a scene set during May Day night revelry in which I had a drunk walking through the crowd while pissing. Then I wondered: can a man actually do that – walk and piss? I asked my husband, and he went outside (luckily we lived in the country then, no neighbors around) and he came back in and said, “Yup.”

No doubt you have spent countless hours researching the real characters, such as Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth, and times that you write about. Do you feel that your portrayal of these persons in your book matches their real life personas?

That’s an excellent question. I take great pains in all my books to keep the historical facts accurate as far as who did what, and when, where, and how. But within that historically true framework I take literary license to create characters who are emotionally true. The historical record gives us dead personages, but fiction brings them to life as flesh-and-blood people with all the passions, longings, hates, and fears that are the human condition. I love marrying these two elements – history and humanity – to make these people “live” again.

For example, Queen Mary was a religious zealot who burned hundreds of people at the stake during her brief reign; her people in her own time called her “Bloody Mary.” That’s a historical fact, and it makes us view her as cruel. But she was also a woman who suffered in her personal life, hopelessly in love with her husband, Philip of Spain, who coldly fulfilled his conjugal duty with her and then promptly deserted her for his mistress back home. Mary believed she was pregnant, joyfully so, and kept on believing it right into her tenth month, by which time it was clear to all that her pregnancy was a phantom one, and she became the laughing stock of Europe. It’s hard not to pity such a sadly self-deluded woman, and I hope I’ve conveyed that pity in The Queen’s Captive. By the way, some modern scholars believe that her condition was a tumor caused by uterine cancer.

*Do you feel that your Thornleigh family fits the general description of any real family of that time? Or that there is a good possibility of such a family's existence?*

Definitely. The Tudor and Elizabethan period was a boom time for the middle class, who were happily making money and growing very prosperous, especially during Elizabeth’s long and peaceful reign. I based Richard Thornleigh’s success as a wool merchant on much research about the wool trade; that trade with Europe was England’s mercantile life blood. Of course, real wealth was in land. High status and riches came from the monarch’s gift of titles which brought land. In my Thornleigh saga, Elizabeth rewards Honor and Richard for their loyalty by ennobling Richard; she makes him a baron. Their son Adam, too, after carving out a life as a sea captain, is knighted for his service to Elizabeth. This was a common route to riches.

By the way, I’m running a contest on my website to name the Thornleighs’ newly built grand house. The winner will get an autographed copy of The Queen‘s Gamble, plus I’ll use the winning name in the book I’m now writing, and thank the winner in the book’s acknowledgements. So this is an invitation to your readers: If you have a name suggestion, send it in!

*I know you have a new title coming out soon. Could you give us the name of the book and the release date?*

Gladly. The book is The Queen’s Gamble and it will be released by Kensington Books on August 31. Your readers can pre-order it now from any bookstore or online supplier, and they’ll receive it even before it hits the stores.

*Do you have a story taking form in your mind for another book?*

I’m actually hard at work on it. I’ve got a three-book deal with my wonderful publisher, Kensington, to continue my Thornleigh series. The book I’m working on introduces a new Thornleigh heroine, and also introduces Mary Queen of Scots and the crisis that she created for Elizabeth when she escaped captivity in Scotland, fled to England, and threw herself on the mercy of Elizabeth, who was her cousin. The crisis for Elizabeth was that Mary was infamous throughout Europe for having connived at the murder of her husband and then marrying the murderer. In the over four hundred years since then, people have been taking sides about whether Mary was a murdering adulteress or a saintly innocent. Stay tuned to read my take on her!

*The time period surrounding Henry VIII was a period of religious turmoil and violence. Do your stories bring out a lot of that?*

They do, yes. You’re right: religion was the huge issue of the period, and I find it a fascinating parallel to the religious tensions in our own time, of Christian vs. Muslim. 15th century England was a cauldron of religious hatred and fear, of Catholic vs. Protestant. At the beginning of Henry VIII’s reign, when Protestantism first jumped across the Chanel from Germany, it was illegal to own a Bible in English; only the Catholic church’s Latin version was approved, and the English authorities burned people who refused to recant their “heresy”. Queen Mary, a fierce Catholic, burned hundreds of Protestants at the stake.

*Do you remember any favorite reader's comments on the series that you care to share with us?*

Ah, many! I treasure that connection with readers. Here’s one email that really made my day: “Your book, ‘The King's Daughter,’ is absolutely the best yet. In fact, if there were something equivalent to the Academy Awards in the Best Historical Novelist category, Barbara Kyle would be under spot lights every year. You are that good.”

The note I found most moving was from a gentleman in Tennessee who wrote me to say that after his wife died he went into a deep depression, then found comfort in reading everything he could get his hands on about the Tudors, and my books, he said, were the best. That really touched me.

And here’s a line from a reader’s email that I cherish: “I had to write you even though it is so late in the evening. I just finished Chapter 11 of The Queen Captive! You had me in tears …” I won’t tell you why this caring reader was in tears, because that would spoil the story for your readers, but I will say that she went on to add how happy she was when the character she’d been weeping about survived.

I’d love to hear from your readers, too. They can email me at bkyle@barbarakyle.com.

*On your website, I see that you also have become a writing teacher. How did this part of your life develop?*

I began giving workshops about eight years ago, and found that I really enjoy helping emerging writers. My “Fiction Writer’s Boot Camp” became quite popular. This became the basis of a series of video workshops I made called “Writing Fiction That Sells. “The series is available online through my website – over ten hours of instruction and inspiration, tips and techniques. I’ve had tremendous feedback on it from writers, which is very gratifying. Then the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies, which offers excellent courses for writers, led by many successful novelists, asked me to create a course for them. Most of their courses were geared for writers of literary fiction, and I thought popular fiction was being overlooked, so I developed a course called “Writing the Popular Novel.”

Now, I offer my “Master Class: Your Novel in Workshop” a couple of times a year in Toronto. It’s an intensive weekend in which we workshop the beginning section of each person’s novel – the class is limited to ten people. As I tell the writers who attend, it’s crucial to get the opening of one’s book in top shape before submitting it to an agent or editor, because if the first twenty or thirty pages don’t grab them, they simply won’t read on.

Also, when my own writing schedule allows, I also do manuscript evaluations. Several of the writers I’ve helped have gone on to get published. That, for me, is most satisfying.

*Can people benefit from your writing instruction in some way, either through a book or online?*

Definitely. Anyone interested should check out my series of online video workshops “Writing Fiction That Sells,” available through my website. They can watch a free clip on my website. And, if they live in or near Toronto, my next “Master Class: Your Novel in Workshop” weekend is August 13-14. All the details are on my website: http://www.barbarakyle.com

Thanks, Debra. It’s been fun!

*Thank you! It has been a pleasure.*

Please comment to enter a giveaway for an ARC of The Queen's Gamble or a copy of any of Barbara's previously published books! Enter by July 5th, 2011.

Barbara Kyle previously won acclaim for her contemporary novels under pen name ‘Stephen Kyle’, including Beyond Recall (a Literary Guild Selection), After Shock and The Experiment. Over 400,000 copies of her books have been sold.

Barbara has taught courses for writers at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies and the Haliburton School of the Arts, and is known for her dynamic workshops for many writers’ organizations, garnering praise such as this from internationally acclaimed author Wayson Choy: “Barbara, I am amazed at your professional energy and dedication to teaching the craft. You're an inspiration!" Barbara also enjoys helping emerging writers through her manuscript evaluation service.

Visit BarbaraKyle.com.

What Do You Do to Indulge Your Inner Aristocrat?

2011-06-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

I have become so pathetic. I used to hate the ringlets over the ears, hair parted down the middle look of the 1840s, but I nearly decided to try it myself the other day! A few times I did my writing on a clipboard, sipping tea with a decanter full of tulips at my side instead of at the computer. I get lost in large picture books and read histories and related fiction.

What do you do to indulge your inner aristocrat?

The Development of Victorian Morality

2011-06-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

While people today think the Victorians to have been prudish, they were, like people of any epoch, progressive for their time. Indeed, the debauchery of the preceding era was being rejected by society as a whole, with a strong pull toward decency. However, only a few decades before Victoria ascended the throne, for example, waltzing was considered by most as immorality in the ballroom. Victorians and the Queen herself waltzed unhindered while their Regency era forebears were yet alive and even present! Shocking! Quite progressive, were they not?
Indeed, many of the things done then were for the sake of being progressive. Take, for example, the sign found at various offices- “You Are Requested to Speak of Business Only”. Today such a sign would be considered irritating, restrictive and perhaps even unconstitutional in the US. At the time, though, it was meant to promote a dutiful work ethic, which was an important thing to society in general. This was a change. While in the past the idle life of an aristocrat was thought of as right and something to wish one could attain to, or hope to marry upward into, during the Victorian era the lower classes began to pride themselves on work well done, on rising from poverty into self sufficiency and on doing their duty to the community. People were eager to be found Respectable, and there was no respect for those who deluded others or cut corners. Dishonest individuals would find that they did not fit well enough into society to receive invitations into the homes of most. People also worked long hard hours to keep their jobs, as there was no real job security or unemployment compensation. The result of these social and fiduciary pressures resulted in England’s skilled workers becoming well known around the world for their dedication and expertise. The sense of self-worth of the working classes began to be bolstered by their newly popular contempt for the idle rich, which likely contributed to their productivity and a higher living standard. Aristocrats began to feel guilty when idle and to find ways to busy themselves usefully, such as charity and public service, in order to not be deeply disdained. They had taken notice, too, of the French Revolution and its treatment of the nobility and preferred to avoid such an outcome.
Respectability was determined in other areas of life as well. A family should be living in a clean, tidy home, wearing clean clothing and displaying good manners. One would not call attention to themselves with loud ways or flashy clothing. It was far more respectable to do without than to go into debt. Thrift was encouraged. In a true emergency, a respectable person could rely on his or her neighbors because he himself, or she, had been helpful in the past and deserved it. Troubles should be born without complaint, it was thought, and so personal and family problems were often unknown outside the family. Neighbors kept their distance. In the middle class, there was some suspicion of a man who earned enough money for their children to inherit. Sons were to be taught a good trade and become self-sufficient. Earlier in the century, fathers would make great sacrifices to provide for a daughter who might not ever be married, but later, women began to become more independent.
There was great importance to being earnest, as you may have heard. Earnesty meant that recreation was for refreshment and health, but not for self indulgence. Drinking and indulgence were, after all, the causes of disease! Moderation, bath and exercise, along with cleanliness of the home, were the cure. Respectability involved punctuality, rising early, orderliness, self-denial, self-control, initiative, good use of leisure time and prudent marriage. Such traits were widely promoted in lectures, sermons, publications and worker's self-help societies.
I cannot personally see any problem with these standards! While there was quite a bit of unnecessary oversight of certain social rules, by neighbors and other busybodies, and a person could be shunned for being less than Respectable, the principles themselves contributed to health and prosperity.
It was quite important, also, to be a gentleman and chivalrous. In the early nineteenth century, a gentleman was only someone from the landed class or a barrister, clergyman, military officer or Member of Parliament. However, England was progressive, and as time went on, gentlemanly conduct became an obligation. Mistresses and illegitimate children were no longer openly acceptable, which did hopefully contribute to family happiness. Parliament could dismiss a member found to be living in such a way. The term "gentleman" began to apply to men who lived up to socially acceptable behavior. "Gentlemanly behavior was governed by a strict unwritten code of what was 'done' and 'not done.' It was clearly 'not done' to cheat at cards or question the honesty of another gentleman." He was "courteous, considerate, and socially at ease. He paid his gambling debts and kept his word- a verbal promise was more important than a handshake, and a written contract seemed faintly disreputable, as if it suggested that a gentleman's word could not be trusted." He was "honorable, dependable, and ethical. He did what was required without supervision- he didn't become a clock-watcher, but neither did he work excessively long hours just to make more money... A gentleman exhibited stoic self-control. He did not call attention to his own cleverness, or visibly work harder than others, or show too much enthusiasm.... loyalty, team spirit, courage, and fair play... he was motivated by an enormous fear of... visibly failing to live up to his standards and responsibilities." He behaved honorably toward all women, accepting their chaperones on every outing. A gentleman would not turn his back on a lady to whom he was speaking without first excusing himself, hat in hand, and at least giving a hint of a bow. No wonder we women today.... well, enough daydreaming here. It's just not going to happen.
Early in the century, women were taught young to become a wife and mother. Her duty in life was to rule the house under her husband's oversight. She was responsible to turn out healthy, self-sufficient sons and well trained daughters who could do the same. She was to keep the house and laundry clean (mind you, a great many women had servants, at least for the heavy work, but there was a lot of heavy work), oversee the children's education, preserve high moral values, guard her husband's conscience (men obviously being unable to do so for themselves?) and build society up by her daily Christian duties. If she were to do so properly, it was assumed that her husband and sons would have no cause to leave home for an evening's morally suspect entertainment. Girls were taught that as women, they would be more responsible for the "success or failure, happiness or misery, learning or ignorance, than kings, statesmen, philosophers, philanthropists, and clergymen." Women were legally subordinate, economically dependent, taught to be obedient to their husbands, and yet entirely responsible for the comfort, beauty morality and happiness of the family. She was trained to please and to suppress her own desires. In turn, she was to be protected from the shocks and dangers of the world, her purity and refinement safeguarded; she was to be safe at home. It was important for her to marry wisely, because her "marriage established her rank, role, duties, social status, place of residence, economic circumstances and way of life. It determined her comfort, her physical safety, her children's health, and ultimately- perhaps- even her spiritual well-being." Unfortunately, in earlier times, girls were not to hear of sex until their husbands taught them on the wedding night. I can't imagine that that was healthy in any way. I know a woman, now in her 80s, who had that same experience, so I believe that thinking carried through into the 20th century, as did many other ideas. To some degree, however, a lighter version of Victorian sexual mores was healthy. Where the standards were applied in fact, girls were, in general, safer, children were more often born in a two parent home with parents who took their responsibilities seriously.
In later decades, especially toward the end of the century, the "New Woman", or feminist, appeared. Girls began to grow up educated and took on work as a professional. They no longer had to have a chaperone every time they left the house, traveled by bicycle or public transportation and even lived in a flat with friends. You see? The Victorian Era was totally progressive. What is your view?
All quotes and some of the information was taken from Daily Life in Victorian England by Sally Mitchell.

The Development of the Victorian Era- The Early Days

2011-05-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

The Victorian Era is a long, lovely, interesting time in history with changes taking place rapidly, decade after decade. It was a time of elegant society, but also a time of harsh realities, some of which I have touched on in past posts. What was behind the changing customs, the attitudes and the times? I will be doing a series of posts on the Victorian times here; I hope you will find it interesting!

Queen Victoria herself was probably never meant to be. She was the product of an emergency! The only heir of King George IV, Charlotte of Wales, died in childbirth as did her heir. Though George IV had brothers, none of them yet had legitimate children. George himself was succeeded upon the throne by his brother William IV while they all rushed around abandoning their mistresses and snatching up princesses to marry in order to provide a legitimate heir of the royal blood. The first to be born was Victoria, the daughter of the Duke of Kent and his wife, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. She became the heir apparent of William. Her father died soon after she was born, and her mother raised her fairly isolated from the public eye. Her mother did not get along with the king, and Victoria was the center of much family feuding. She came to the throne at age eighteen, after a succession of old men, amid much rejoicing of the people.

Victoria personally was very interested in the welfare of the poor people of her country, but the ministers of government had set up the degrading, life-destroying workhouse arrangement, called the New Poor Law, in 1834, before Victoria came to the throne. They could not be much bothered with the poor beyond that for many years. I will post more extensively in the future on the workhouses. The change from an agricultural to an industrial society created many working poor, from children on up, who put in lengthy hours for low pay. Living in crowded cities, these workers could not grow much in the way of food and were at the mercy of their often unscrupulous employers to be able to survive at all.

Early forces behind the early Victorian era included:
A) The Duke of Wellington's victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815, which brought on an atmosphere of national pride.
B) The Industrial Revolution, which transformed England from an agricultural nation to an industrial power, making it the world's greatest economic power for most of the century.
C) The Reform Bill of 1832, which doubled the number of men eligible to vote. A gradual progression toward democratic rule and governmental responsibility for the safety and well-being of the citizens was a result. Although Victoria did not ascend the throne until 1837, many scholars consider this Bill to be the starting point of the Victorian Era. It was certainly a strong influence on the society of her time.

When Victoria was crowned, the majority of people lived in the countryside and few of them traveled more than 10 miles from the place they were born. Nothing moved faster than the horses that carried them. Only half the population could read or write, and even five year old children worked in coal mines and dangerous factories. Power was in the hands of a small minority- men who held property.

Women had no rights at all. A woman was the property of her husband. Any property, even clothing, that she held on her wedding day became his. Should he die, she could only hope that his will, if he had one, provided for her in some way, or that family would take over her care. Even her children were not then hers, and Chancery Court would settle, hopefully, on some male family member to raise and care for them. Chancery operated very slowly, much to the harm of the children.

Styles in dress were frequently changing. Just a few years after the Regency era with its Empire cut dresses, which had no waistline but just under the bust and tiny puffy sleeves, early Victorian women wore off the shoulder dresses with a v-shaped waist and long puffy or billowing sleeves. They were truly elegant. A man's shirt collar came up to cover his neck, and his vest was low cut. No one would be seen out of doors without a hat. It just wasn't respectable. Even the workhouse inmates wore a hat, though it might be quite ragged. Gentlemen's hats were very tall top hats; they were quite difficult in windy weather. Women wore a pretty bonnet. Stylish women had their hair parted down the middle with ringlets or braids in front of their ears.

There was much transition during the sixty four years of Queen Victoria's reign. I will go into more detail in coming posts.

Crime and Punishment in Victorian England

2011-05-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

You own a small palace. You have your trusted staff and you can live happily ever after. Right? In the movies we hear the Mistress of the house defending her staff when there is anything amiss. They were all exemplary. They came with references and could not have done wrong. And besides, she was a proper lady and would not suspect.

There was a great divide, though, between the rich and poor. The rich had vast excess while the poor were in misery. A good many would have liked to work their way into an aristocratic household to get their hands on anything they could redeem for cash. Therefore, it was necessary for you, as the Mistress of the house or the steward, to check references very carefully. Any girl old enough to have worked before, say age 16, had better come with a good "character", as references were called. Even then, there was the problem of forged characters. However, a job in such a household was highly esteemed, for servants in a great house ate regularly and had a roof over their heads. Those who came in with the right motives safeguarded their futures by behaving by the book.

While you might be safe in your own exquisite home with your carefully hired staff, you had to hide any valuables in a hidden pocket of your dress, often under a flap of fabric, when out and about in Town (the capital T means London Town). If for any reason you were out of your carriage and standing in a crowd, there were an abundance of skilled pickpockets not far away and drawing nearer. One might create a diversion while another stuck his hands into your pockets. Even a gentleman with hidden pockets in his coat would go home to find that his gold pocket watch had somehow disappeared, though he hadn't felt a thing.

Children were often hired to carry your expensive clothing here or there to be laundered or stitched. They were often relieved of their burdens by crooks looking for something nice to sell. Children of the aristocracy, if left alone to wander in a park or down some street to shop, were often relieved of the clothing they were wearing and sent home to you naked and crying.

Railway travel was an exciting new sport for the gentry of early Victorian times, but once again, there were crooks waiting nearby. You might arrive home after long travels and have your trunk lashed onto the back of a carriage to be hauled home behind you, only to arrive and find that the lashes had been cut and your trunk was missing. This would be worse yet if you arrived from your country home and the clothing you had intended to wear for the Season had disappeared.

Should anything sensational occur, you would want to be right there in court alongside a number of other upper class viewers to enjoy the proceedings. Large courtrooms were packed; you might even want to buy a ticket in advance if the case would prove to be interesting, like the case of Lord Frankfort. He had provided a home for a prostitute, but when she wanted to leave, he prevented it for two months. When he stepped out to a club one night, she took the jewels he had given her and left. He sued for the jewelry, apparently forgetting that his wife would get wind of it. She then sued for a judicial separation. The mistress was found not guilty of theft in the matter, and the aristocracy had enjoyed the show. Well, they didn't have TV and couldn't follow along with Poirot, could they. Ten years later, Lord Frankfort was back in court, charged with publishing an indecent communication in the shape of a letter to peeresses and the daughters of the nobility, offering to arrange to drug their husbands to sleep so that they could spend the evening with lovers. One clergyman had opened his wife's letter, of course, and went on the witness stand about what he had read. However, his decency moved him to ask the judge to send all ladies outside the courtroom so they wouldn't have their ears damaged by what he was about to say. The judge merely ordered the ladies not to listen. Lord Frankfort went to prison for a year, but used his financial goodwill to be exempted from oakum picking and the treadmill.

Sentences could be savage and arbitrary. Two young men had stolen a handkerchief worth 1s and were transported (to Australia, likely) for seven years. Two others each stole a handkerchief worth 3s and 2s and the same judge sentenced them, one to a month in a house of correction and the other to four year's penal service. Someone who took a bottle of gin worth 2s got only fourteen days.

Those who were incarcerated, however, might get the first bath of his life and clean shirts once a fortnight when new and more humane prisons began to be built. They were taken out for exercise wearing caps that had flaps to cover their faces so that other prisoners could not recognize them. They were taught trades and even given a good suit of clothes when leaving prison. However, they often sold these quickly as they did not match the clothing of the people of the Town.

By 1861, only murder and treason could be punished by death. Few murderers were, in fact, hanged. In 1854 only five hanged, and the annual average was between nine and sixteen. It was, however, still another sort of entertainment, and thirty thousand showed up to watch one hanging of a man and wife convicted of murder. Charles Dickens was in the crowd, having paid only 10 guineas for a place on a rooftop to see all the better, but he apparently was not pleased with it, and he wrote to the Times that executions should no longer be public. At least, he said, the hangman "should be restrained in his unseemly briskness, in his jokes, his oaths and his brandy". He also noted that the woman, hung in her black satin dress, was elaborately corseted and artfully dressed.

Things were much worse for convicted criminals before Queen Victoria's time, and over her decades gradual changes were made toward humane dealings with them.

Authors: How Do You Choose Names?

2011-05-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

I think one of the biggest challenges I have faced in writing is choosing names for my characters and places. What about you?

Since my novels are Victorian and English, I have to try to "think English" despite my American birth. Places in England seem to end in "ton", "shire", "bury" and such. So then I try to add on another British name, and so thinking of Sherlock Holmes, I came up with the name for my book's fictional location- The Companion of Lady Holmeshire. With some of the character names, I start with the ending and then make up a beginning, thus Lord Breyton. After each making up frenzy, I get on Google and look up the name to make sure there is not a real one living who might sue me, lol. You would be surprised to find out how many of the names I have made up are real and occupied! It was probably about one out of four that were actually available.

Another way that I have come up with a name: I was floating about Facebook, spacing out because I needed a name for an angelic young lady in my second book, For the Skylark. I received a Friend Request from a gal named Evangeline. That was it! I asked the young lady if I could steal her name and she agreed to it. :) The next day, I received another Friend Request from a second woman named Evangeline, and I knew for sure that it was a keeper. (Although it took only one second to be sure in the first place!) My character has a twin brother, who as a toddler could not pronounce Evangeline and so called his sister Angel Eyes, which really reinforces her characteristics. I love it!

How have you authors come up with your names? I'd love to know.

Realities of Life in Victorian Times

2011-04-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

I fully intended to talk of palaces and duchesses with pearl covered tea gowns when I started this blog. And I will yet. But for some unknown reason, the research I have been doing takes me into some of the realities of life for the majority of people. And many of these realities hit hard for the aristocracy, too. Take for example:

Bed bugs. What a joy. No matter your station in life, you might be visited by the bed bug, and it was no picnic to get him to move along. You could probably blame it on the maids, but it did not give you a better night's sleep to do so. I am not aware of the modern means of treating a house for bed bugs, but even today, I hear it is not easy. One woman in the 19th century wrote about tossing 20 pails full of water on the kitchen floor trying to drown them. All the parts of her bed were then immersed in water, after which they were laid out in the sun for two days. The bed's joints were painted with mercury ointment (beware the vapors thereafter, although they were unaware of it's toxicity and probably blamed the maids for the onset of illness) and the curtains were taken down and washed. If you think that was an easy task, kindly refer to my post on doing laundry. Bedroom curtains were often thick, heavy fabric to help keep the cold out, and just getting them into the boiling pot would have taken a bit of energy. From what I understand, bed bugs can live within the walls of a house, so depending on whether you lived in a stone castle or a stuccoed Belgrave Square mansion, you may have to learn what could be done to evict them from between the stones or plaster.

Life with mattresses. The less expensive beds were stuffed with wool flocking, which became lumps. The wool might also become fodder for moths. Therefore, the mattresses would have to be disassembled and the wool would have to be washed, boiled and teased. After that, you would have to hire someone to come in and put the mattress back together. Feather beds were the more spendy type, but every third year or so you would have to pull all the feathers out to clean them. So, I wonder, where would you put them all? On the floor to air, while you washed and waxed the ticking cover. Enjoy the 21st century!

I am sure you are dismayed enough by now, but I thought that you should know why families only did their laundry every five to six weeks. It turns out that it is because of the etiquette books. One of them, for example, stated that "a family wash should be performed as seldom as possible". And one was, of course, to abide the etiquette books for fear of becoming a social outcast. One would surely not want a reputation for doing the laundry more than once a month!

Many thanks to Liza Picard's book, Victorian London. (Again.)

British and Other Period Movies and TV Series, Part Two

2011-04-08T00:34:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I posted about a few period flicks and TV series and found that my blog has received a large number of hits for that to this day. I'm thinking that I may not be the only one who likes the Regency and Victorian stuff! Love stories, mystery, drama, true life movies, which can be stranger than fiction... I must confess to watching about a million of them in the olden days, when I was making jewelry, before the economy hit a glitch. Now I just sit around writing things. And enjoying it.

Part One, and that is clickable for more information, discusses the following shows, all of which I was, at least at one time, able to obtain from Netflix.
1) The House of Eliot~ Two sisters became a 1920s Fashion Design team. Wonderful!
2) Aristocrats~ The story of the Lennox sisters, descendants of George II. Great!
3) Edward the King~ A playboy king, son of Victoria. Again, great stuff.
4) Victoria and Albert, The Young Victoria and Mrs. Brown; all about Queen Victoria.
5) Nicholas and Alexandra~ Long and amazing: the Russian Czar and Czarina with Rasputin. Heartbreaking.

And now, for Part Two. Sorry, I don't have the time to discuss actors, but you can in the comments section!

1) The Importance of Being Ernest~ Truly one of the greatest period comedies. And I adore the song, Lady Come Down. Two men learn that lying weaves a tangled web and that it can cause problems in love and romance! Five stars!

2) The Ideal Husband~ Another great comedy, and I have to mention the adorable Minnie Driver because I love her faces! Do not miss this one.

3) The Sissi movies~ old films and subtitled, but it is another real Queen and her difficult life. It is one way to learn history.... I enjoyed them.

4) Fall of Eagles~ Shows the demise of the Hapsburgs of Austria-Hungary, the Romanovs of Russia and the Hohenzollerns of Germany, and how they were involved in the outbreak of World War I. Amazing miniseries! Sissi is in there again.

5) The Crown Prince~ Another royal tragedy. Rudolph, the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary. I would call it depressing, but based on true history. Poor Sissi... again. Subtitled

6) Howard's End~ An Edwardian period movie which shows some struggle between the classes, but also the lovely politeness of society. Some favorite actors and actresses.

7) Downton Abbey~ The first seven episodes: A fictional story which shows how the hereditary system worked in period Britain, with everything being entailed to the closest male heir. Women got nothing, and at times had to leave their homes when their husbands died, kids included. I am looking forward to the next season, which starts in December.

8) I have to mention Fawlty Towers, even though it is only from about the 1960s. It is about a prudish hotel owner, his irritated wife and bumbling staff. It is hysterical! I don't generally like slapstick, but this one had just the right balance, and I've watched it repeatedly. Wonderful!

9) Of course, there are the Jane Austen movies, some of which have been made over more than once! You can type Jane Austen into the Netflix search box and get a drop down menu. Wonderful!

10) Sherlock Holmes~ There are a lot of episodes as well as movie length shows about this interesting Victorian London based detective. Also, watch for Hound of the Baskervilles, which is Holmes, but it seems to go by the Hound name. (I had to make up a name for an Earldom for my book. What's a good British name? Holmes! Thus, the Companion of Lady Holmeshire.)

11) Poirot~ Many movies and episodes of the Agatha Christy detective from Belgium. He is a quirky guy, and the mysteries he solves are interesting.

12) Miss Marple~ More Agatha Christie mystery. Along with the great stories, you get to putz around in little old English villages and gardens a bit.

13) Stone of Destiny is really great. A true 1950s story; some Scottish students take on a centuries old problem. Their country's ancient coronation stone was taken by the British in a war, and British monarchs to this day are crowned sitting over it. These students were determined to get it back to Scotland.

14) Type Charles Dickens into the Netflix search box. Though only a few of his stories show up on the drop down menu, go ahead to the page and there are more. Some of the ones I really like include Bleak House and Little Dorrit. Bleak House shows much about Chancery (the system for orphan care) and Little Dorrit shows how a man in debtor's prison would take his family along, although the family could go out and work. There is also a pathetic twist that shows the viewpoint of (some of) the aristocrats toward lower class persons. All the Dickens movies are great.

15) That Hamilton Woman~ More magnificent palatial homes. Watch a real life story.

16) This weekend I tried to watch War and Peace for the second time. The first time I got bored, but I don't remember what was going on with me that time. This time, I'm afraid, I got bored again. I know that this time I had other things on my mind. It has the adorable Audrey Hepburn in it, but they dressed her up like a 1950s Barbie doll, complete with pony tail, short cut bangs and a dress with a waistline during the Empire period! I watch these things for the period effects, largely. Modern movies can have great stories, too, but I don't watch 'em! I am going to try this one again, one more time. The soldiers had great costumes. Maybe farther along, the rest of the people will. And please, if you have watched it, leave a comment and let me know if it gets better after the first 20 minutes or so. Thanks!

17) So what did I watch then? I put Monarch on. It is an incredible series about the monarchs of Britain, starting waaaaaay back. It has a lot of episodes and it will take me several more sessions to see it all. I am only up to the 14th century after probably 4 hours of watching. There are great shots of the castles they built, many now in ruins, and various effects left over from history. There are a lot of war scenes, but they are blurred, so no gore there, but the narrator does not mind spelling out the details of how this or that person was put to death. I would, therefore, not recommend it for sensitive viewers or kiddos, although you can probably tell that it is coming and fast forward. It is worth the time spent, for sure.

18) I am alternating streaming Monarch with Bramwell on disc. Dr. Bramwell is a woman in Victorian England. The first episode really shows the way women were undervalued, to put it mildly. I like the series well enough, except that I am shocked at how they show all the medical procedures. I can't handle it, myself, although I have attended real life surgeries professionally and did fine. They show the doctors slicing right through apparent persons and blood shooting out. Not at all necessary, in my opinion, and it certainly takes away from the "sit down and relax with a movie" scenario. I'm not kidding; it is worse than real life. I turned away, so as not to watch a caesarean on a deceased woman, but then they had to throw in the horrid sound of them ripping her open. Good heavens. Not pleasant. I may watch it for the rest of the show, which is good and gives a good view of life at that point in time, but I will take care to close my eyes and cover my ears a time or two per episode.

19) Here is a good run down on Bride and Prejudice, the Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice.

20) In the comments section, Cindy mentions North and South. I wanted to point out that there are two of them available through Netflix. One is British and is a good story. A rural family has to leave their nice home and move to a polluted industrial town. Ugh. It is a good movie. The other is an American Civil War series. That I have not seen. Anyone who has, please comment on it!

21) Lark Rise to Candleford has been recommended to me by the administrator of the Jane Austen Community on Facebook. She says it is a great series, so I've put it on my queue (at the top, actually) and look forward to watching it.

22) London Hospital, again recommended by Julia Salsbury (above) is not available on Netflix, but she says it is on Amazon. In her words, "This stars Charity Wakefield (Marianne Dashwood from Masterpiece Classic's Sense and Sensibility) "This series was created from actual case notes, manuscripts, diaries, papers and other ephemera done by and for the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. As a result it is a clear window into the history of the London and into the history of medicine. Heartwarming AND heartbreaking. Frequently disturbing and difficult to watch. Not softened by Hollywood but done in acid by British writers Colin Heber-Percy and Lyall B. Watson. The whole thing is brilliant - the acting, the sets, the costumes, the actors, the scripts... wonderful series!" Available to buy on Amazon for Digital Download only."

23) Little Lord Fauntleroy- a name I had heard all my life but never knew why. An adorable movie about a boy who was taken away from his mother (Netflix says it as "rescued from poverty") by his aristocrat grandfather. I enjoyed it.

24) I have added three movies that I have not yet seen to my queue. I will write on them here after I see them. They are The Old Curiosity Shop (Dickens), Dombey and Son and The Pickwick Papers (Dickens).

25) If you like something from older times, Lorna Doone is set in the 17th century.

26) The Barchester Chronicles is in my list of watched movies, but I don't remember it! Anyone care to comment on it?

27) There are ever so many movies about Elizabeth 1. Some of them include some torture scenes, so be aware. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the others and learned quite a bit about that era. It seems that eras are mostly about the queens and kings....

I will be adding to this list as I have the time. I intend to make it long.... you may want to bookmark this page if you are a lover of period movies, sometimes wondering what to watch next. Please mentions your favorites in the comments section. I may have missed one! See you soon! ---> Netflix <--- (No affiliation)

Darcy and Fitzwilliam by Karen Wasylowski

2011-04-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM – RELEASED BY SOURCEBOOKS, INC. 2/1/11

The story of Darcy and Fitzwilliam is of two men who have been life long friends, competitors, relatives. They share little in common. Darcy is elegant, fabulously handsome and meticulous in manner and dress. The other one - well, Colonel Fitzwilliam is a rogue. Rough looking, brawny and possessing enough charm and love of life to sustain him through the years of England's war with France.

Their personal lives cross, with women and babies; feisty old Aunt Catherine is along for the ride. Hope you enjoy!

Reviews:

Both Jane Austen World and Jane Austen Today

“It’s intoxicating. It’s absorbing. It’s excellent.”

THE CALICO CRITIC
Saturday, February 19, 2011

Karen Wasylowski has done a fine job with these Austenian characters. She has stayed true to the original vision of their temperaments, yet brings new aspects of who they are to light. Their witty repartee is always fun, as they regularly jab at each other in non-cynical brotherly ways. Darcy and the Colonel passionately love their women, sometimes going to extremes to protect them and those they love. There is much drama in this narrative, although it doesn’t cross over into melodrama in the least.

There was more than one night when I had trouble putting the book down to go to bed! Being the men who they are, there are a few moments that are a bit PG-13 as far as language and sexual content. I mention this only for those who are particular about these issues or are considering this for young readers. Most of the bedroom material is within the confines of marriage, and Wasylowski doesn’t go overboard with frequent gratuitous moments of intimacy or colorful tirades.

Thank heavens this isn’t some tawdry bodice-ripper with blue dialog every other minute.

Darcy and Fitzwilliam was an enjoyable read. Karen provides an epilogue that occurs decades after the main story, and I think she could easily draft a sequel in the future. I readily enjoyed her treatment of these characters and hope she continues to revisit this world. Her work is page turning, humorous, maddening (Caroline!!) and touching.

This is a fine edition to the ever-growing library of Austenesque novels. It’s definitely a “bromance” worth an Austen fan’s consideration.

LINDA BANCHE REVIEW
Review: DARCY AND FITZWILLIAM: A TALE OF A GENTLEMAN AND AN OFFICER by Karen V. Wasylowski

Laugh until your sides ache and then laugh some more with Karen V. Wasylowski's delicious Darcy and Fitzwilliam: A Tale of a Gentleman and an Officer. This absorbing, fast-moving romp of a book catalogues the often hilarious ups and downs in the enduring affectionate friendship of those brothers-in-spirit, cousins Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.

I read this entire 481 page book in one day, laughing all the way. Ms. Wasylowski has a good ear for realistic male banter, most of it uproariously funny. The best two lines in the whole novel occur when Darcy and Fitzwilliam reminisce about their youth and the hilariously disgusting things young boys do to each other. I still laugh when I think of those lines.A truly wonderful and original take on Pride and Prejudice. I can't wait for Ms. Wasylowski's next book.

HISTORICAL BOOKS Review
Pride and Prejudice has given contemporary writers of historical fiction an endless source of ideas. Many of these novels of possibilities are very good and honor the original classic, while others are wastebasket material. Karen V. Wasylowski has turned out one of the former, a charming and believable rendering that offers the reader a look at the men in Pride and Prejudice. Austen herself would no doubt welcome Darcy and Fitzwilliam, an amusing and witty interpretation.

Comment below, and include your user name (or some way to make sure that I can contact you) to win a free copy via random drawing! Karen will ship a signed copy of her book to one winner anywhere.

Upstairs Downstairs; To Celebrate!

2011-04-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the new Upstairs Downstairs, which plays in 3 episodes on PBS "Masterpiece" starting April 10th here in the US of A, I thought I would review some aspects of the old series. In this greatly loved and long running production, we learned much about the workings of an Edwardian household.

We learned, first, that the servants area, including the kitchen, was downstairs, and that it had it's own doorway. Servants were never seen coming in the front door. There was a rigid hierarchy among the servants, with Mr. Hudson, the butler reigning over the others. In a larger household, we would have seen him sitting at the head of the table, but this little kitchen had, if I recall correctly, a round one.

The upstairs family was headed by Richard Bellamy, Member of Parliament, but in the watching we learn that it is his wife, the Lady Marjorie, who deals with the staff, and mostly through her butler. She, however, meets and hires the help. Kitchen maids and the scullery maid, who gets to do the worst of the dirty work, came under the authority of the cook, Mrs. Bridges.

The house, 165 Eaton Place, was one of the smaller homes in the richest development in the world, Belgravia. Another part, therein, was Belgrave Square, which had enormous mansions, occupied by dukes and others of the highest rank.. Belgrave Square now houses mostly embassies, but once again, there are some residencies being prepared.

At the Bellamy's, we watch the ritual of the afternoon tea. Ladies in attendance would wear their hats and gloves throughout the meal (yes, it was a meal, usually with neatly cut sandwiches, as dinner was served four hours later at 8:00). If a lady was going to eat bread and butter, however, she was allowed to remove her gloves. There were, indeed, rules for everything! Should Mr. Bellamy have needed to see his wife at this time of day, he would enter with his hat and stick, the appropriate way to show that he was aware of the short length of time that it would be acceptable for him to remain in the room, and that he would comply. The butler would bring in the tea, which was to be poured by the hostess herself. In a larger household, it may have been carried in by a footman assisting the butler. Mrs. Bellamy knew better, of course, than to pour milk into cups before the tea, or she would come to be known as a "miffer", a milk-firster, and would develop a reputation as "socially impossible".

The setting, Edwardian England, was a grand time in many ways. Victoria's last decades had been marked by her endless mourning for Albert, and she was rarely seen in public. Edward, though, enjoyed the pleasures of life, and his country joined in the cheer. A sad note, at the start of his reign, was the cancellation of his coronation due to his appendicitis. No doubt a small fortune had been spent preparing, but it was all put on hold for two months. Londoners were thrilled that he moved his court from Windsor to Buckingham Palace, which he redecorated. His wife was lovely, and the family, adored. It was a golden age. All the pomp and ceremony that the Prince Regent, in the early 1800s, had initiated was carried on, and is still today as a mark of royal events.

Marjorie and her guests were stunning in their Parisian corsets, with, of course, only real whale bone, and bought at the London Corset Company. The ladies bustles contributed, as well, to their stately and elegant profiles. Should anything go wrong with a lady's clothing, her lady's maid was the one to call. Rose would have been well trained, likely as an apprentice to a seamstress, for the role. I'm sure she could also efficiently remove soil from a silk dress by rubbing it with stale bread crumbs. Where the wet wash was hung out in Belgravia, I cannot say, but it certainly would not have been out of doors.

The inexperienced house parlour maid could purchase a booklet describing her duties for 3d. An older woman would have to provide references, called a character, to show that she was already well aware of the responsibilities and had previously carried them out in a fine way. Lady Marjorie would certainly have been cautious about who she hired, but took on a maid with a false character, who, we later learn had been a jailbird! Her name, Clemence, was inappropriate for a servant, so Her Ladyship changed it to Sarah.

England was under one dark cloud, however, and Richard Bellamy was most disturbed by it. That cloud was the arrogant and distrusted Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, Queen Victoria's grandson gone wrong, a major contributor to the Great War. Elizabeth Bellamy, the somewhat rebellious daughter, brought home a German Baron, much to her father's distress.

There is so much more to say about the times, but if you are still here with me, I will just relate that the actress who played Marjorie decided to leave the show to strike out on her own in movies, though she was not successful and regretted the decision, even before the show in which she was written out was aired. She was taken out of the story by traveling to America on a ship called the Titanic, never to return to 165 Eaton Place.

This great series may be available at your local library on DVD, and it is also available on Netflix. It is well worth the many hours it will take you to watch it! Much of my information was taken from The World of Upstairs Downstairs by Mollie Hardwick. Other information was gleaned in books long ago read and returned to the library and from Wikipedia.

Update: And now that the show has begun, please share your viewpoints on the new episodes!

Book Giveaway; Many Authors

2011-04-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Please join me at a Book Giveaway hosted by the author of A Very Merry Chase, Teresa Bohannon. There are a variety of books to consider and perhaps win!
Book Giveaway

You can also visit my author's page on Facebook and Like me, should you wish. Many thanks for your support! My book, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire, has been published by World Castle Publications. My website for the book is Author Debra Brown.

Writing Bloopers

2011-03-31T06:54:00.000-07:00

When rewriting a novel, you tend to come by some things that weren't exactly written well the first time. I have also run across some pretty funny things that were chosen by my spell check to replace what I wrote. I will post some of my bloopers and spell check funnies here, and I invite authors of (any genre) writings to confess on the comments section of this post. Please spare us if it got too outta line. Waiting to hear!

I wrote: "Over the fireplace, hanging neatly next to a portrait of the reigning Queen Victoria, on each side were the uncrowned late Queen Caroline and the nation's beloved Princess Charlotte, her rule defeated forever by her death at the birth of her stillborn son." On the third or fourth rewriting, it finally struck me that um, we had a couple of dead bodies in regal garb hanging over the fireplace in the Duchess' Drawing Room!

I had to tangle with my spell checker pretty seriously once: I wrote, "They went to haul it up the hill...." and spell check wanted me to change it to "They went to haul it UPS." Lol!!!

I'm sure there were more bloopers to share; I will post them if I can drag them from their hiding places to confess. :)

I do moderate comments and reserve the right to refuse any that I choose not to publish without explanation. If your comment is not published within 24 hours, it may not be accepted.

Eating in London Before Refrigeration

2011-03-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

As in every aspect of Victorian life, there were books to tell you how to go about eating. W.B. Tegetmeier's "Manual of Domestic Economy", published in 1858 suggested that the very poor spend nearly all their money on bread, but a little meat should be eaten every day and it should not be saved for Saturday night and Sunday. The cheapest meats from the butcher were cow's cheek, sheep's head, liver, ox heart and sometimes pig's head. A labourer should eat nearly 2 lb. of bread a day (nearly, you hear?) and a boy above ten years of age, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. Every member of the family should have 2 pints of new milk daily. With plenty of bread and milk, there would probably be health and strength and no doctor's bills. If you were very poor, you were not to spend money on tea, but keep it for milk. "Tea is a very dear food." If you are less poor, drink tea only on Sundays and special occasions. He deplored waste; vegetable peelings, gizzards, heads and feet of fowls were to be used in soups. (The smell of fish was common in the houses of the poor, but Tegenmeier didn't mention it.) I don't know how these poor people could afford his book, but I am sure they were required to do so.

Wives of working men shopped at street markets. If they had been domestic servants, they would know how to cook. Otherwise, "something easily prepared" was preferred. I'm sure none of their mothers taught them anything?

Without refrigeration, it was necessary to buy fresh foods often. Even staples such as rice and flour could, in time, fill up with vermin. A middle class woman might be able to afford ice for some occasions. The rich often had ice houses, where ice from the rivers was cut in the winter and stored, surrounded by straw for insulation. That would be nice in country homes, but London ice must have come from the Thames, which was filled with sewage. It took a while before it was realized that cholera came from sewage cubes, as it had been blamed at one point in time on cucumbers.

Butcher's boys called at homes in the early morning, at the servant's door certainly, to take orders. They returned a little later with the meat in baskets or on trays atop their heads, and I doubt they had food handler's cards. Jewish butchers were recommended by Eliza Acton because of the hygiene laws enforced by the Sanhedrin. Sounds good to me! You could get fish from a "wet and dry fishmonger". Wet fish was the fresh; dry was the smoked, and kept longer. Some fish arrived live, but "skinning eels while alive is as unnecessary as it is cruel." A cod's head was good eating, but you were not required to eat the eyes.

Fruit and vegetables were, of course, seasonal. The Army had access to tinned food since 1820, but the public did not often purchase food this way because of the difficulty of getting at the food. The can opener was not invented until 1858. Soldiers, of course, had knives and weren't afraid to use them.

Food was often adulterated with preservatives, some of which were eminently dangerous. Bread often contained chalk to whiten it, potato flour since it was cheaper and alum so inferior grain could be used. Bakers often kneaded the bread with their feet. Copper cookware often made people ill. It was safer if coated with tin, but that wore off with the enthusiastic scrubbing needed and pans had to be recoated regularly.

Mrs. Beeton's ubiquitous etiquette book set out Bills of Fare for each month, including table settings. If you wanted something from down the table, you were either to ask someone else to dish it up for you or do without. Unfortunately, Mrs. Beeton included the cost for each meal in her book, which the Lady of the house had to know backward and forward, making it hard for the cook to scrape off excess money for herself.

Eliza Acton published a cookbook which promised plain English recipes, but from there she branched off into a poor Swiss fondue and curries, as well as a West Indies "tomata". Her "Mayor's Soup" recipe said to stew two sets of moderately sized pig's ears and feet, from which the hair had been carefully removed,for five hours. Another recipe for the same soup uses "half a fine calf's head with the skin on". You may want to consult my source, the fine Victorian London by Liza Picard, for further recipes. Many thanks to Liza Picard!

The green text links following will allow you to have your very own copies of Mrs. Beeton's Books at a rather steep price.
MRS. BEETON'S HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT A COMPLETE COOKERY BOOK WITH SECTIONS ON HOUSEHOLD WORK, SERVANT'S DUTIES, LABOUR-SAVING, LAUNDRY WORK, ETIQUETTE, MARKETING, CARVING AND TRUSSING, ETC

Mrs. Beeton"s Household Management. A Complete Cookery Book with Sections on Household Work, Servants" Duties, Labour-Saving, Laundry Work, Etiquette, Marketing, Carving and Trussing, The Art of "Using-Up" [and much more]. OUTSTANDING COPY

My New Victorian Book The Companion of Lady Holmeshire

2011-03-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to have a publishing contract with World Castle Publications for my new early Victorian novel, The Companion of Lady Holmeshire. It will be available digitally and in trade paperback. The date of release is, as yet, not announced. A foundling infant, grown to become the lovely servant girl, Miss Emma Carrington, has been chosen by the Countess of Holmeshire as her companion to keep her from the lonely hours of widowhood. Emma returns from London, where she had been receiving training in the arts of refinement, to the country castle home of the Lady in Northumbria. There she receives a warm welcome from her former workmates downstairs. The Countess intends to introduce this former servant girl into aristocratic society alongside herself despite much anxiety over it on the part of the former housemaid. Soon the Lady’s son, the 7th Earl of Holmeshire, who is engaged to an aristocratic London lady, returns from his travels to the Continent. How does he take to the presence of this former servant at tea? A day in the village below reveals some hint of danger to Emma; what is the source of that threat? Follow the enjoyable romantic developments and enjoy life with both the aristocrats and the servants. Join them as they travel into London for The Season and learn how Emma is received in snobbish upper class society. See some of the harsh realities of life while visiting a poor area in Victorian London. Attend a ball along with the young Queen Victoria. Last, but not least, quite some intriguing mystery has been woven through the book; an expensive bracelet has been stolen and the identities of several people are puzzling. You can read a few chapters and see the video HERE.

After reading the first nine chapters, close the book and write your own ending for a valuable jewelry prize! Please read some paragraphs from the book and learn about the contest at My Website. Thanks for taking a look!

Wages and Info About Servants

2011-03-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

I've written some here about servants and their hierarchy in my February 2011 posts. I thought I would now go on ad nauseum with some other points. I have been stuck in the Victorian era, it seems, but comments from any other period are also invited. Likely, the things brought out below pertained for quite some time previous to Victoria's reign.

To put the wages into perspective, I believe Bingley, from Pride and Prejudice, had 5,000 a year, did he not? And Darcy was well above that. Was it 40,000? Someone correct me as needed; I don't have the income statements available.

The biggest category of employment in the country was maids. Even if you could not afford to hire a maid full time, you had to have one come on Saturdays to scrub the front steps. It was a status must. If anything at all had to be done, it was the scrubbing of the front steps. You wouldn't want to hire a girl from the workhouses; she would be completely untrained. You'd want someone from a decent family. Not even a full time live in maid would make much money. But she would be likely to have good meals, as well as the roof over her head, and that could be expected to continue for her lifetime if she was any good at all. (Girls, you do need to get your job very young; when you are older you have to have a character- that is a written reference from your last job- to get another. And there had better not be a lapse between.) Depending on the income of the household, she might even have a shared bedroom. If not, she slept on the kitchen floor with the beetles. One servant girl wrote of earning 16 pounds per year, though I've also read that they might have received from to 9 to 14, and it depended partly on whether you were given cash to buy your beer, tea and sugar. (If a Mistress went to hire her first maid and did not know the price, she merely had to look in Mrs. Beeton's book about such things.) And believe me, the maid worked hard for it! Cleaning knives was no picnic. They were not of stainless steel as they are today. They discolored when used and had to be scoured with emery powder; a tedious and dirty job. And that is just knives. Someday I will write about housekeeping, and you can see my last post about laundry. The smaller you were, the more likely that you would be the one to climb up in the chimney to clean it. You might want to be naked for that. You might be that anyway, if you had not come complete with your own clothing, for none was provided. A maid was not to be caught talking with the handsome footman; if there was an accidental kiss, for which she could be fired, it was the girl's fault. In the end, when you had worked yourself nearly to death, out you went and likely ended up destitute in the workhouse.

Up the scale was the Lady's Maid. She earned a good bit more and sat nearer the butler at mealtimes. She spent her workday getting the lady of the house dressed and tended, hair done, cleaning spots and repairing her clothing, dressing her again for dinner or for tea or evenings out, and then getting her undone, hair brushed and bed cozied for the night, including putting warming stones in the bed ahead of time if needed.

Footmen were another story. They did not need the degree of capability or industriousness required from the girl in the kitchen, but boy, they had to be good looking. They also needed to tall, all of them be the same height and look as much alike as possible. A fortunate household could hire twins, I suppose. They never "heard" what was discussed at the dinner table as they waited on the family, and no servant every looked the Master/Mistress in the eyes when being spoken to. Their sharp livery was provided by the house (or they earned extra to buy it) and they earned between 20 and 40 pounds a year. The maids, of course, did all their laundry, rid their mattresses of bedbugs and served their meals.

On up the ladder was the housekeeper (over the maids) and cook, who made 12 to 26 a year plus their tea allowance. Cooks were allowed to sell the once used tea leaves and meat drippings and take tips from local tradesmen. They were called "Mrs." by the servants, although, of course, they could not be married.

The butler and even higher, the steward, if there was one in a great house, would make a good bit more and be able to save so he would be able to open a pub upon retirement. Though in most houses the Mistress did the hiring, no doubt in the greatest houses, where she was a duchess or princess, the steward would fill that role along with running the finances, etc. I just can't imagine a duchess spending her time interviewing maids. But that is my own thought.

Nannies, who raised and corrected the children while a nurserymaid cleaned for her, were up the pay scale and ate in the nursery. "Belgrave Square" is a good representation of the life and duties of a Nanny. Governesses, who educated the girls and the boys who were to young to be sent off to school, usually came from the gentility, though forced into service because of a father's or husband's death. They were allowed to eat at the family table, but endured some humiliation there for not being a family member, for being in service and therefore being somewhat beneath them. A gentleman who visited the family should best not set his eye on her, though I'm sure it happened, and Rochester himself took to Jane Eyre with no concern about it.

Some of this information was taken from Liza Picard's Victorian London.

Laundry: and You Hate Doing it Now?

2011-03-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

We had a short discussion here a few days ago about the lovely stories from times gone by and about how many of the realities were not so pleasant. It made me think of something I once read about laundry in Victorian times, which I found and thought I would share. If nothing else makes you thankful for modern appliances, perhaps this will. It is no wonder that women did not have careers, usually, that instead they stayed home and cared for a family, often with the help of servants. This information is taken from Liza Picard's book, Victorian London.

She says that the family wash was done infrequently. A family of three might do the wash every five or seven weeks. It was done in a cycle of coloreds, body linen and other fine things prepared for boiling on Friday, the fire lit under the boiler at 3 AM on Saturday. Sunday was church, so Monday the washing lines were put up in the garden (yard), which was a major project in itself with a large amount of wash being done. The washing was also finished on Monday, my guess is that each item was scrubbed out by hand until some inventions during the Victorian era. Tuesday shirts and petticoats were starched and the table linen and sheets were smoothed and folded to be mangled. They were sent to and returned from the mangler on Wednesday, while the ironing was begun. Thursday everything would be checked and put away, so the laundry basically took a full week to do. An average wash for three persons was 24 day shirts, six night shirts, petticoats, drawers and knickers, nappies (diapers) and sanitary towels. Silk dresses were sent to a "scourer" to be cleaned, or to save money, you could wash it in gin! Remember, throughout all this, the family had to be fed and cared for in all the regular daily matters.

Now, mind you, if your house rented from 40 to 50 pounds a year (I assume this is approximate), drying could be done in the garden. But to hang out clothes next to a more expensive home of 70 to 80 pounds would be a "profanation". The family would be considered low and vulgar and shunned accordingly. The only hope for them, thereafter, would be emigration- that is what the book says! LOL. Of course, the higher your rent, the more servants you likely had, so the more laundry there was that needed doing. And of course, with the lack of modern birth control methods, there could easily be many children. I think I would require everyone to wash their own clothes out at the end of each day, hauling in their own water to do it! But what do I know? Perhaps I would be shunned for that.

My Best Loved British Period Movies and TV Series

2011-03-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

In my former life, before writing period novels, ahh, a novel, I made jewelry. For many years as I worked at that, I had period movies on.I love them! Believe me, it slowed down my jewelry making! I could not keep my eyes off those gorgeous sets, often within the walls of aristocratic homes and royal palaces, the costumes and the British village scenery with their half-timbered houses. I am going to give you suggestions of some of my favorites, including some real life history that is stranger than fiction.I can't do it all in one post, but will add more in over time.

"The House of Eliot" TV Series~ Fictional. Two sisters become fashion designers for aristocratic women in the roaring 20's. Incredible! The only thing I hated, and I mean HATED, is that the series was suddenly dropped between seasons and there was never an ending! As if it quit in the middle of the story. Well, it did. Still, it is one of the best, and it went on for several seasons.

Aristocrats~ Based on the true story of the Lennox sisters; they were aristocratic women descended from George II on the illegitimate side of the fence. It is interesting to see how different morals were in that time, at least what was publicly expected. Sarah Lennox enchanted the young George III, but he had to marry a chosen princess. She went on to have some extramarital relationships, and it is interesting to see how her family dealt with that.

I always love the historical films, where I can learn about the kings and queens and at least some reality about their lives. Edward VII and Alexandra was an interesting couple. He was the son of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria and had a very hard time living up to the expectations of them both. He simply was not cut out to be a Victorian person, as we picture them! He was a poor student and became a playboy. His ailing father visited him to reprimand him and died two weeks later. His mother always blamed the death of Albert, and as you must know, the tragedy of her life, on Edward. Bertie, Edward VII. holds the record for the longest stint as heir-in-waiting. He came to the throne at the turn of the century and reigned from 1901 to 1910. He did not get along with his nephew, Wilhelm of Germany, and predicted that there would be war, which did break out four years after his death. Alexandra tolerated repeated mistresses, but was, of course, deeply grieved by it. I was amazed at the end of the movie, Edward the King, to see what she did. I won't tell!

Perhaps I should add in, here, the movies about Bertie's mother, the happily married Queen Victoria, and then, after the death of her husband, the reclusive widow in black for the rest of her life. These movies are wonderful. They include The Young Victoria and Victoria and Albert. Mrs. Brown is about Victoria's widowhood, when she was close to John Brown, a servant that both she and her late husband had relied upon.

I enjoy these movies, in part, because of the normal human feelings that these greater than life people had to endure with all the restrictions that living with royal blood created. To me, it shows that the monarchial system, as it was, was no fairy tale to live. Romantic tragedies abounded, for one thing, more than the Snow White and Sleeping Beauty romances that we watched as children. Couples who loved each other were torn apart, even though they had children, so royals could be forced to marry other royals, often close relatives. This led to interfamily genetic pooling and hereditary diseases, such as young Alexei of Russia with his hemophilia.His mother, Alexandra, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria who had been born in Germany and was related to her husband through other bloodlines. Her husband, Nicholas, who took the throne at the tender age of 26, married her earlier than he was supposed to because he needed her support with the enormous task of ruling a huge country. He took his role as king on fearing for himself and the nation due to his lack of experience. It did indeed cause great problems in the country, for which he and his family were eventually executed. During their lifetime, Alexandra desperately sought help for Alexei's hemophilia. He was her only son and heir to the throne. She got caught up by the amazing powers of a monk, Rasputin, who by helping Alexei gained tremendous control over her and the family, and by extension, the whole country. That is another breathtaking story- one that could not have been invented any more romantically or tragically by any author. Keep a box of tissues, at least one box per person, nearby and hunker down for a long, fabulous movie, Nicholas and Alexandra, with incredible palace interior scenes.
I am creating a new, extensive post about other period movies HERE.

Interview and Giveaway with Regency Romance Writer, Teresa Bohannon

2011-03-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the first of my monthly author promotions. I asked Teresa to be the first of my authors because she has been a great encouragement to me, providing information which is available through her blog and website and personal help. I have enjoyed her caring and giving attitude. Please consider reading her Regency Romance, A Very Merry Chase, when you have finished the book you are reading today! There are links to two free gifts below. And now, the interview:

Your first published novel is a Regency Romance novel, why did you choose this genre?

Actually, after a somewhat convoluted path, it chose me. Books are the love of my life. Even when I was tiny, I couldn't wait until I could read all by myself. Fortunately, I had a mother who didn't mind reading to me. I started out very early with fairytales, then myths, legends, reference books, encyclopedias, and history--always, even when very young, in search of great heroines and strong female characters.

About age ten or so, I discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote some truly wonderful action/adventure style females that could darn well save themselves if Tarzan or John Carter didn't happen to be around to do so. Then came Tolkien and epic fantasy, followed by epic romances via the risque Angelique novels written in France in the 1950's. I loved the romance and the adventurous females in these books, but to be honest I scanned or skipped the sex scenes. Then one day I discovered Georgette Heyer and.... "Ta-Dah!" No more skimming required.

Do you remember the first Regency romance you ever read?

That would be Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy--strong, willful, witty, matter of factly in charge and most of all, for me, both financially and emotionally independent, i.e. everything I loved in a female character.

Which Regency romance authors have most influenced you in your love for the Regency period?

Georgette Heyer, Dame Barbara Cartland, Jane Austen and actually just about every Regency that was written in the seventies and early eighties. I literally devoured every one that I could get my hands on, and especially Claudette Williams and all the authors of Coventry series. I remember they had lovely white covers graced with gorgeous paintings of couples in Regency dress.

Could you tell us a little about how you researched the Regency era for A Very Merry Chase?

I originally wrote A Very Merry Chase 35 years ago, and believe me that was a whole different world from research and writing these days--especially in small town America. I remember filling several legal pads with every historical, social, and cultural detail I could glean from the Regency novels I was reading. Fortunately, there were a two public libraries and a decent sized University library near by that I could visit. Their early 19th century collections were abysmally small, of course. So I had the public librarians borrow several titles for me from libraries in large cities to read locally. I wasn't a student at the University at that point, so there wasn't anything they could do to help me, other than look the other way while I sat there for hours on end reading. One of the big problems I encountered, even at the public libraries, was the fact that most of the books I needed to read were considered reference books and could not be checked out, so I had to read them on site. I suppose looking back on it, that the librarians I actually spoke with were amused, here I was a scrawny little old country girl with just a high school diploma, dreaming of writing books about the early 19th century British Aristocracy; but as best I can recall they were all very kind and none of them laughed at me or told me I couldn't do it.

Are there any Regency era historical figures who particularly intrigue you?

Although this was at a time when women authors such as Jane Austen, Fanny Burney, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maria Edgeworth were starting to emerge, my favorite Regency figure is still probably Emma, Lady Hamilton. Her history is tragically sad, but fascinating, and epitomizes so much of women's history. She was literally a cultural icon and Supermodel of her day yet she died alone and in poverty, mainly because she was a woman and, in the end, powerless in a man's world.

My BA and MA are both in history, and although the university I attended didn't have a women's studies concentration per se, I personally concentrated on women's history in my research for each of my classes. To me, Emma Hamilton personifies the harsh way that the majority of women have been treated throughout history, and while this was particularly true when physical strength ruled the day allowing the males to build a power base for themselves and their heirs that generally excluded women, it really wasn't much better as time marched on and we supposedly became more civilized. Traditionally men have set the rules, and most women were punished harshly if they attempted to step outside their socially acceptable niche--particularly when their looks faded, and they were no longer perceived as desirable by the men who held the power. And that in a nutshell is pretty much what happened to Lady Hamilton.

What inspired you to write A Very Merry Chase?

I wanted to be an author more than anything in the world. At the time I originally wrote AVMC, I was young and bright but also uneducated by the standards of the publishing world. I dreamed of writing and becoming financially independent, and I suppose, becoming the same sort of strong, self-reliant woman that I so admired in the books I read. The choice of Regencies was almost a given since they were the traditionally female genre that I most enjoyed reading at the time, and to this day, when I just want to sit back and relax and read for sheer entertainment, I love nothing better than a simple pleasures of a Regency Romance. However, let me state, for the record, that I would hate living in the real Regency era, even if I were incredibly, independently wealthy and could afford all the luxuries the period had to offer. The Regency Romance era that so many readers love, is as much a fantasy as anything ever written by Tolkien or H.G. Wells. In reality, the Regency, as was much of history, was dirty, smelly and uncomfortable, and it was a particularly harsh existence for women--even those in the upper classes whose sole responsibility was to provide an heir and a spare.

Tell us a little bit about A Very Merry Chase?

AVMC is a mostly light-hearted tale with just the tiniest taste of Napoleonic era intrigue. The heroine is the Right Honorable, Lady Sabrina St. Clair, who is wealthy, beautiful, and most independently minded, and who also happens to be on the verge of becoming--according to her less generous peers--an old-maid, or in the vernacular of the times, an ape-leader or antidote. Sabrina is anachronistic in that she does some things that no well-bred lady of the Regency era would ever dream of doing; but she's not particularly blatant about it. For Sabrina, the rebellion is more passive-aggressive in style, manifested, much the same those most women actually living in the Regency (or any other historical era).

The story opens with Sabrina's traveling coach being stopped by highwaymen as she journeys to London for the season. The hero of the story is Brenton, Lord Branderly, Duke of Brensted, an unusually tall gentleman, who, after spending most of his adult life wandering the world, has returned to England in search of a bride and heirs. They meet under rather unusual circumstances, clash repeatedly and eventually fall in love--she reluctantly, he determinedly--against a comfortably Regency backdrop of witty repartee, beaux, belles,dancing, mishaps, mayhem and misunderstandings.

I actually just released an illustrated version of Jane Austen's The Widow's Tale, otherwise known as Love and Freindship(sic), which I compiled from period sources. However, now that project is out of the way and A Very Merry Chase is finally published, I'm free to revise, finish and publish some of the other books I've written. My next release will be a paranormal romance that I started approximately 25 years ago. It actually began life as a series of short stories about a trio of reoccurring characters moving through time together. Over the years it has been written, rewritten, tweaked and edited more times than I care to count; but somehow I just couldn't make myself write that final chapter until last December--and I still don't have a title for it! And then after that I have a children's fairytale that I have an artist working on illustrating, a short story collection I need to edit and publish, a horror novel I need to finish, and about a dozen Regency Romance novels floating around in my head that I need to write.

Search Amazon.com for A Very Merry Chase
Where can readers obtain a copy of A Very Merry Chase?

Both The Widow's Tale and A Very Merry Chase are available at Amazon and AVMC is also available at Barnes and Noble. You can purchase it, or download the first chapter to read for free at either location. I also have a video book trailer on YouTube and a facebook author page where you can keep up with my various posts on tidbits of Regency history.

A free E-copy of either book will be awarded to one person who comments on this post on March 31, 2011.

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History Recovered From the Thames

2011-03-02T20:15:00.000-08:00

I just read an interesting Reuters article on Yahoo News by Stefano Ambrogi. It is about a man who searches through the Thames mud during low tide and finds items from centuries past which are preserved because of a lack of oxygen in the mud. It's a very interesting read for those who are interested in old Britain. The mud digging reminds me of the fact that poor men, women and children, in the past, used to dig in the mud of the once filthy sewer called the Thames to find items to sell to survive. Sad, but true.
News Article

Your Favorite King or Queen Story?

2011-02-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about real British Kings and Queens here. Many of them led lives that in the interest and intrigue department were larger than life. Most everyone knows about Henry VIII and his poor hapless wives. It may not have been all about lust... what intrigues me is that he seemed to believe that in order to please God, he had to come up with a wife that could produce a son, and yet God seemed to accept the daughters that he left to the throne as being adequate. Lol. I'd love to hear from some of you historians about Henry VIII and his views. And his wives.

Another favorite of mine is the wife of the Regent, later George IV. Her name was Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales. George hated her from the first time he set eyes upon her, and shortly after their wedding night, about the time she became pregnant, he retired her to her own house with her own staff, never to take her back to his own home. Their daughter, Charlotte of Wales, was also given her own house and household as a child! She was not allowed to see much of her mother, who was rumored to be living a life of excesses. Caroline adopted several children and sent them off to foster homes, but she kept one boy at her side that people felt was her own son. Due to pressures from their troubles, Caroline left for the Continent, where she was living when her daughter, Charlotte, died in childbirth after her stillborn son. This left the nation without an heir to the throne in a younger generation, and the brothers of George IV had to go about dumping their mistresses and "bastards" to find a suitable princess to marry, young enough to have a child. Charlotte's widower, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld provided his sister to the Duke of Kent, and they became the parents of the future Queen Victoria. Caroline stayed on the Continent, where she spent her time until George III died and her husband was to take the throne. She then returned, hoping to be crowned alongside him, but was rebuffed at the entrance to Westminster Abbey where the coronation was held. She had to leave, humiliated, and died within a few weeks. What a world, and no wonder William has been allowed to marry the girl he loves!

The disastrous marriage: A study of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick The disastrous marriage: A study of George IV and Caroline of Brunswick

Period Movies- You Love Them Too?

2011-02-28T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today, the day after the reign of Colin Firth at the Oscars began, I searched the phrase "I love British movies" on Twitter. Needless to say, there were a great abundance of such comments, and most of them were about period movies, many directly about The King's Speech. Yummy period movies: which is your favorite?

I recently talked about one of my favorites on Teresa Bohannon's blog, where the question was asked about our favorite romantic movies. I brought up that I love Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance with Linda Ronstadt, Kevin Kline and Rex Smith. Everything from the music to the costumes and dancing was amazing! Linda and Rex have fantastic voices and Tony Azito was incredible as the leader of the crazy dancing of the bobbies. I don't mean to downplay everyone else; they were great, too.

My kids liked the movie so much while they were growing up that they watched it so often that they knew every part backward and forward, including every pause. When my daughter met her future husband, it turned out that he, too, had grown up memorizing the movie. As a surprise for them, we put together the play, getting the sets and costumes ready and having their friends learn their roles by watching it, learning to lip sinc the songs to the soundtrack, and then we put on the play with my daughter and her fiance in the leading roles! They had a little time to practice before the big day, and we wound up doing the show twice, instead of once, by popular demand. It was the greatest fun we've had in a long time!

So, your favorite period movie is.... ?

The Difference: Barrister and Solicitor

2011-02-28T12:03:00.000-08:00

In Period novels and movies, we often come across the terms Barrister and Solicitor. I'm sure you British and Commonwealth readers know very well what the difference is/was, but this is English Epochs 101, so bear with us Americans and others, and even inform us, please! Much of my information is from Wikipedia. What I discuss below is the use of the terms in period times, especially before 1873 when the Judicature Act made changes.

Solicitor~ A solicitor dealt with the public, with individuals who needed assistance with a will, Chancery, divorce or other day to day legal matters. They received their training in a five year apprenticeship. Socially, they did not fit into upper class life, as did the barrister.

Barrister~ A barrister did not deal with the public, but would argue in higher courts matters that were prepared and brought to them by solicitors. To become a barrister, one would attend dinners at one of four Inns of Court for three years, after which they might be recommended or "called to the bar" by senior lawyers. There was no exam required. A barrister's wife could be presented at court and they could attend the highest social events.

Bleak House, by Charles Dickens, revolves around a case in Chancery Court. Chancery was notoriously slow in bringing forth decisions, and since it was about the placement of orphaned and abandoned children, and monies from their parent's estates (from what I can tell), that was not a good thing.

Your Favorite Character (Spoiler Alert)

2011-02-23T00:22:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers, in your experience of reading authors who wrote during the Elizabethan through Edwardian eras, yes, that includes Empire, Regency and Victorian, who is your favorite character, and why? Do not read on if you don't want to see certain books opened.

I closed my eyes and skimmed back for X number of years, since my first classic in 7th grade, and the character that first came to my mind, thus, to me the most memorable, was Miss Havisham from Dicken's Great Expectations. Such a strange kitten! I think she was memorable partly because she remains in her wedding gown for the rest of her life after being jilted on her wedding day, and a wedding gown is the epitome of beauty in the costume department. How could I write a character in more memorable dress? Impossible. Though she was in her fifties during the early part of the book, all artists conceptions that I have seen of her have her still fitting beautifully into this size 6ish gown with a gorgeous headpiece and long veil. How immortalizing! Then add in her waxed, skeleton-like face for contrast, and the rotting wedding cake on the wedding table at her side for the rest of her life. Though she gives me the creeps, she makes me go back to Charles Dickens for more. Sadly, I see on Wikipedia that she was likely modeled after a real life woman and not exaggerated. Someone call in a therapist!

Please let us know what is interesting about your favorite character.

I accidentally deleted some comments, so am reposting them here:
Book Buff said:

Gotta go with Mr. Darcy. I feel such a connection to him because my personality is so very much like Elizabeth and my husband is Darcy to a t (except he looks like Russell Crowe, no joke, so bonus!) Just the honest almost to a fault and a bit gruff personality is the personality of my best friend/husband so I can't help but pick him!

Lady Liz said:

Hmm... I think my favorite Character is from the Romantic period... does that count? I always get my timeline mixed up so I'm going to feel dumb if the Romantic period is not included!

But my two favorites are Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In the novel he is not the monster you think of when you hear "Frankenstein".

Also, I really love the Character Felicity from the short story of the same name by Gustav Flaubert, but he's not English. :)

The Window Tax

2011-02-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

Though this does not play heavily into the books and movies of the era, in doing my research I was particularly astonished to learn about the Window Tax and had to have a shot at it. British readers may be well aware of this, but it was news to me!

The tax was introduced in order to avoid an unpopular income tax in England and Wales in 1696 under King William III. During different time periods, the number of windows per tax amount varied. Originally there was a 2 shilling tax on a house and additional tax if there were seven windows and more for a certain number of windows above that. Houses can still be seen that have bricked up windows, likely originally to avoid taxation. The wealthy put many windows in, sometimes likely to display their wealthy status.

The poor had small houses, or none. The tax was hard, though, on the middle class. Besides the obvious struggle to afford the tax, people had to be able to see to work, and if there were less windows, they had to buy more candles! The people felt that they were being taxed for light and air and the tax was very unpopular.

There was also a tax on bricks and wallpaper at times, and there is still a tax on doors and windows in France.

1911 Encyclopedia
Wikipedia

The London Season

2011-02-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

All of London would gear up annually for The Season, which custom began to evolve in the seventeenth century. The Lords and Ladies would leave their country homes and come to town for the opening of Parliament and would stay through its run. In my research, I found Parliament opening on different months on different years, depending on the hunting season. That might seem odd, but the House of Lords, was of course, made up of Lords, and they must hunt! Many aristocrats owned homes in London as well; some would be invited to stay in the great homes of others.Certain servants came along; surely the valets and lady's maids, and any needed to run the town home. The Season meant shops and business of all sorts had a very busy few months. Debutantes dressed in beautiful gowns, always with a long train, and probably wearing diamonds and other precious stones, were presented to the King or Queen, after which they were considered to be in society and could attend events. After Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria turned this duty over to her eldest son and his wife. The upper class went from party to party- tea parties, dinners, balls, etc., which were where young ones hunted for their future marriage mate. Food for these parties was usually made in house by the kitchen staff. Ladies visited fashion houses where designers made clothing just for them; many events had dress codes. There were exhibitions, races, riding, sports, opera and concerts. The pace during that time was exhausting. The Season would end quite suddenly in August, and everyone would return to their country homes for hunting parties to begin again!

Books by Modern Day "Jane Austens"

2011-02-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

You've read them all? Austen, Bronte, Dickens... We can't leave you sitting there with no book in your lap! Maybe we can find you something new. I invite British Period authors to use this post to discuss their books or other publications on the appropriate genre. I will be happy to add links to your books on Amazon, too. Message me from Twitter @kescah or leave me a request in your comments. Thanks for participating!

It's been a few days... it seems my author friends are a little shy about promoting their books! I'll break the ice here, and hope they follow. My book (soon to be published) is an early Victorian novel about a foundling girl who becomes a servant in a grand castle home. (I hope they make a movie of it, lol, I want to see that castle!) Her Mistress works at introducing her into genteel society, which causes quite a ruckus in some homes. Romances develop between some characters, along with the tribulations that seem to go hand in hand with love. Let me share the start of one such romance with you here:

"Now that the girls felt so much better about life at home, it was time to descend into what Elizabeth termed as the Inferno. Was Helena even aware of the situation downstairs? Anne insisted that Elizabeth go first, and used her as a shield. How glad she was to be just a bit of a thing and that Lizzy had a hearty appetite! Maids were still carrying food to the table when they arrived, and they received no greeting. They waited before sitting to see where it would be appropriate; heaven forbid they take the wrong seat, Lizzy whispered to Anne. Somehow, though, the servants managed to spread themselves out to cover all the benches adequately, and Elizabeth had to speak up for sitting space. Grantham, at the head of the table, barked for “Someone over there” to move over and make room. The wrong people moved, and it had to be done over again. There were neither flowers nor Flowers at this table, but, oh my, the good silver was out and Nobody was to say a word about it, Nobody being the girls from Holmeshire.
"Anne was terrified to eat for fear of her elbow touching the goddess sitting next to her, but was expected to manage. After all, there was nothing wrong with the food, and did she think she was the Queen? And how could Miss Elizabeth have gotten her napkin so soiled already? It’s a bit of work to get them clean, did she know? And did Anne have to tap her feet so relentlessly? There was no orchestra to keep time to, and they did not intend to hire one for her. And then, yes, it happened! The poor girl, in trying to push the butter across to a kitchen maid, knocked over a pitcher of milk that was, after all, not just for her but for all those at her end of the table! And now, besides the huge mess, some of which had splashed into other people’s dinners and even their frocks and hair, good people were going to do without milk! Anne covered her face with her hands, which, it was pointed out, was of no help whatsoever. Did she not know where the rags were kept? …No, she didn‘t…. She was just about to break down in hysterical tears when the building above them parted, and any clouds moved aside to permit warm rays of the sun to shine down upon the poor girl in the form of a handsome young footman who stood up and shouted for some decent manners in that place. He then stepped over the bench and got Anne some rags. “There,” he said, “It’s not so terrible, you see, Deidre (the goddess) did the same thing last week.” Harp chords and nightingales sounded and rendered everyone silent or Anne deaf. She glanced up at the man’s face for just a second with thankful eyes, but what a face it was, and it filled up her capacity for memory completely. What happened the rest of that meal she could not recall, not even whether she cleaned up the milk or ate another bite or if anyone commented on those subjects. In fact, never again did she fear mealtime, but greatly looked forward to it and often peered down halls in coming days to see whether any handsome being there was carrying the tea service down the wrong hall! That evening, Elizabeth had lost Anne entirely and had to talk to herself on the long climb back from the kitchen to the nursery to check on Gwyn’s fortunes with Hattie. She hadn’t meant the comments for herself, but had to reply anyway for lack of anyone conscious, dwelling inside Anne’s little body, who could."

Servants in Great Houses

2011-02-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

This blog is truly at the 101 level, but please join in and add deeper information as you can!

Have you ever watched Pride and Prejudice and wondered how in the world they managed to take care of that enormous house, Pemberley? Wow! Grand houses had many servants. Many more servants than family. At times there were 50 indoor servants and 50 for the outside property. They received fairly low wages, but ate better than many of the other lower class people at the time and had a roof over their heads. They also worked very hard for that pay.

Servants were divided into a hierarchy. The largest houses had a steward who basically ran the home. He was the highest in class, and made by far the most money. Under him were the butler, cook and housekeeper. If there was no steward, the butler took charge. Under the cook were all the kitchen servants. She was called Mrs., whether or not she was married, or Cook by the family, and everyone under her had to obey. There were kitchen maids who worked with the food and scullery maids who did the dirty work, scrubbing pots and pans and floors. (Sorry, girls, no non-stick cookware for you!) Footmen, under the butler, carried food upstairs to the family table. They had been hired as ornaments, usually chosen by their looks and height. Often, they were to look as much alike as possible so as not to distract the family and their guests. And of course, they never looked at the family or heard anything that was discussed at the table. Under the housekeeper were the Nanny and the nursery maid under her, and housemaids. High up on the ladder were the Lady's Maids, who helped the Ladies with dress and grooming, keeping their clothing ready to wear and doing up their hair. They were much like the Valets who took care of the gentlemen.

Servants were to avoid being seen, even hiding inside a closet or leaving an area if they had advance notice of the arrival of a family member. However, they were to leave behind them fires lit and tended, clean rooms and a well cared for family. They were up, dressed and fed by 7, and then tended to getting the family up, dressed, fed and cared for all day. Guess who went to bed last? You got it! Servants usually got Sunday afternoons off to visit their families, and were expected to attend church in the morning.

Welcome to English Epochs 101!

2011-02-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to readers and authors! The purposes of this blog are twofold.

First, I want to write on the fascinating topics of times past in English history. Personally, I am intrigued by the class differences and how widely even the lower class accepted the situation and stayed in their place, as if it were a duty! Deference in times past made for a very interesting theme for my novels. Each post I write will discuss some aspect of life in the Elizabethan, Empire, Regency, Victorian and Edwardian times. Please feel free to add to each discussion! I want to learn from you, too. If your publications apply in some way, you may mention the titles in your comments, and briefly discuss them. At times I will invite an author to give a write up about his/her book, and I will create a post just for that subject. I reserve the right to delete any inappropriate posts or unrelated genre.

Secondly, authors are welcome to request that I link to their Amazon offerings in this genre, and if appropriate, I will do so.

Please recommend your favorite books and movies. There may be one I missed!

Thank you for coming today, and watch for my Tweets regarding new posts. @kescah.